An unexpected voice in the chorus of body image advocates is model Cameron Russell, whose 2012 TED Talk about beauty and the business of modeling went viral. Now, she has founded "participatory magazine" Interrupt Mag, and in the first print issue, comes at the subject from a child's perspective.
Cover story writer Marie C. introduces us to girls as young as 4 who think about their bodies in terms of what they can do, rather than what they can't live up to. "[I]t is this utilitarian approach that women tend to completely overlook: taking for granted all the things that our bodies can do and instead worrying about things like cellulite, love handles, flappy upper arms, and grey hair," she writes.
Here are four of the answers she got from girls, explaining what they love about their bodies -- from skin, hair and eyes to more general "magic."
Jeniah, 8: "I like my body. I like my eyes because they help me see different things. I also like my hands because they help me write different things. I also like my feet because they help me walk and have fun. My name is Jeniah and I’m 8 years old!"
Bayan, 6: "I like that I can move with it. I like that eyelashes are long. I like that my skin is half white and half brown. I like that my hair can shake."
Cherae, 5: "I like my eyes. It changes colors and I can see everything. I like my legs too. They are very long."
Sofia (a.k.a. Lola), 5: "I like my body because it’s magic."
Photos by Marie C. for Interrupt Magazine.
Click over to Interrupt Mag for more striking images, and find out more about the magazine's first print edition here.