December 09, 2013
8 Body Image Heroes we Love
1. Jennie Runk

2. Jennifer Lawrence

3. Lily Myers
Myers' slam poem about body image and disordered eating was awarded Best Love Poem at the 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. Her incredible piece speaks for itself.4. Mary Lambert
The "She Keeps Me Warm" singer's Sep. 3 message to her Twitter followers is a must-read.I am a big girl. A voluptuous, curvy, dress-wearing lesbian. I love my body; it's the only one I'll ever have. I eat a lot of greens and work out and drink gin martinis and put M&Ms in my froyo and sometimes I don't do anything but watch Project Runway. I am allowed to look sexy, feel sexy, and be in love. I am worthy of all of those things, and so are you. Own your good and bad, and all the scary parts that you've been covering up because it is yours and no amount of judgement can tell you how to love your body. In the words of Sonya Renee, the body is not an apology. You are magic.
5. Nickolay Lamm

"If we criticize skinny models, we should at least be open to the possibility that Barbie may negatively influence young girls as well," Lamm told the Huffington Post in an email. "Furthermore, a realistically proportioned Barbie actually looks pretty good."
6. Shailene Woodley

I saw somebody -- what I thought was me -- in a magazine once, and I had big red lips that definitely did not belong on my face. I had boobs about three times the size they are in real life. My stomach was completely flat. My skin was also flawless. But the reality is that I do not have those lips and my skin is not flawless and I do have a little bit of a stomach. It was not a proper representation of who I am. I realized that, growing up and looking at magazines, I was comparing myself to images like that -- and most of it isn’t real.Because of her discomfort with how women are constantly Photoshopped and edited on-screen, Woodley doesn't wear makeup to events.
7. Elena Raouna

8. Sheila Pree Bright

American concepts of the “perfect female body” are clearly exemplified through commercialism, portraying “image as everything” and introducing trends that many spend hundreds of dollars to imitate. It is more common than ever that women are enlarging breasts with silicone, making short hair longer with synthetic hair weaves, covering natural nails with acrylic fill-ins, or perhaps replacing natural eyes with contacts. Even on magazine covers, graphic artists are airbrushing and manipulating photographs in software programs, making the image of a small waist and clear skin flawless. As a result, the female body becomes a replica of a doll, and the essence of natural beauty in popular American culture is replaced by fantasy.Though Robyn Lawley didn't make the Huff Post list, we think she deserves to be mentioned as well. But what about you? Who's attitude inspires you?