Let me start this post by saying that though this may focus on plus size women and how society sees them, women who are super skinny and are naturally that way AND healthy are no less beautiful. I know sometimes, we focus on the outrage over what is considered "fat" and those who are naturally very thin don't want to be labeled any more than large women do. I say as long as you are truly healthy inside and out, size never matters. 

Okay, so see that beautiful woman up there? The one with the curves and small arms and beautiful strong legs? The one with a little bit of a "roll" in the second picture that looks like any other regular woman out there? In case you haven't seen this all over the internet, she is the first "PLUS-SIZE" model in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. PLUS SIZE. She's a size 12.  Let me tell you, I am a size 8 (granted, not blessed with height and long legs) and I can NOT rock a bathing suit like her. She is gorgeous. And yet, she is considered "plus size". Why couldn't she just be in the magazine as just another model? Why did she have to classified? And WHY in the world is she considered plus size?? This is a perfect example of what is wrong with our society and societies around the world. Let's look at a few other examples. 

That is an ad featured in the Swimsuit Edition. She is a size 16 model. Okay, so maybe we can categorize 16 as plus size. BUT, does it have to be the focus of this ad? Why isn't she just a beautiful woman who is modeling? I certainly wouldn't feel the confidence to throw a bikini on and rock it in a published magazine. Why does she have to be labeled? 

 This next model was in Elle last year. She is a size 10 and YES, considered "plus-size".

And in an article I found (HERE), they actually say this...

SIZE SIX. COME.ON.  And let's not get me started on why there's a "Plus Model" magazine and why all beautiful women can't be featured in just "regular" magazines. Here is some information cited from Plus Model. "Twenty years ago, the average fashion model weighed 8 percent less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23 percent less, it said." Yes, that's what it says. It also says that most models meet the criteria of anorexia. So, our standard is for women to be so thin that they are compromising their health? Hmm… Seems legit. 


Last April, I saw an image on Facebook posted by an Italian Magazine, much like the pictures of the "plus size" models are going around now for SI. This is the model. 

She is 5'9" and a size 16. Anyone think she looks bad?? I made the BIG mistake of looking at comments people wrote and I literally felt sick to my stomach. It made me sad and angry that people could look at this woman and talk about all of her "fat" and "flaws". 


I found a study done with 548 5th-12th grade girls at a school. "Of the girls, 69% reported that magazine pictures influence their idea of the perfect body shape, and 47% reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures." 47% is way too many young girls, going through many changes in their bodies, to be so affected by a magazine. If anyone wants to lose weight, it should be a decision made based on health, but never to be like someone else. These girls should not be comparing themselves to an unrealistic body shape found in a magazine. If magazines had a wide variety of women of all sizes, would that make things different? 

Why is this happening? Why do we as a society treat women like this? The most important question is "What are we going to do to change it?". Well, that's part of what we're here to do. We want to help change the way women look at themselves. We want to change the way society looks at women. We want to change the way men see women and help them learn to embrace and empower the women around them. We want to educate young girls BEFORE they start to believe they aren't good enough or pretty enough or skinny enough.  We want to catch girls and teens at those awkward ages when they've already been sucked into the standards society is placing on them and change their thinking. We want to teach all females about being the healthiest they can be. We want to teach them to have purpose, dreams, and faith in themselves. We want all of this and more and we're on a mission to make it all happen. 

We want to feature all women, all sizes, shapes, ethnicities. We want to show the world what the "regular" (I say, we're all extraordinary) woman is, what the real "standard" should be. 

Do you want to be part of it? Go to our participation page to sign up and help us show young girls and women that every woman is beautiful, powerful, and empowered. Sign up your daughters too and give them a positive project to be a part of. Let them show off their uniqueness, style, and amazing personalities. Even if you don't feel that all of the time, you will be surprised how much participating will pull those feelings out in you. And let's be honest, we take great pictures, so you can't go wrong. :)

Do you want to be be a speaker or sponsor or to host an event? We'd love to have you. We do ask that if you want to be one of these that you participate as well. I mean, that's the point, right? ;)  

Let's change the world, girls and ladies! 

xo
Nicole

Well, while Kiera is off on her dream trip to Switzerland -much deserved (and I'm horribly jealous), I am holding down the she. fort. :) I want to talk about the little girl inside of us today. 

Do you remember when you were little and you thought you could be anything? Maybe you wore your mom's heels around and put on "fancy" clothes. Maybe you wanted to be a princess or a queen. Maybe you sat all of your dolls around and pretended to be a teacher.  Maybe you talked of being a singer or a doctor, or maybe both! As children, we have a much different view of the world and of ourselves.  

Do you ever notice how much confidence a 3 year old has? Listen to what a toddler says. They are full of love for others and themselves. They believe they are the most important person in the world, a sort of self-centeredness that isn't bad because I'm here to tell you something. You ARE the most important person in the world. That's not to say we shouldn't do for others, care for and love people fiercely and do everything we can to keep our loved ones, especially children, happy and safe. We should do all of those things. But, we shouldn't forget about ourselves in the process. How can the people around us be completely happy if we aren't?

We shouldn't forget about those dreams we had as children or that way we believed in ourselves and our abilities 100%. Where do we lose that? We lose it by what people say to us, by what we hear others talk about, by the images and beliefs we see in the media. It makes us lose our faith that we can be anything and anyone we truly want to be. People start telling us early on that we aren't good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, fast enough, strong enough. Then, we start to tell that to ourselves. 

Let's go back to those toddlers. They have confidence in everything they do and say. That picture of a dog that looks like just a bunch of misshapen circles? They see a dog and think it's the best picture they've ever created. That is, until, someone tells them it doesn't look like a dog. Or they see Sarah's picture and hers "really looks like a dog".  Then, the self doubt comes in. The "I can't draw, I'm not good enough, I'm comparing myself to everyone now" doubt. And then, it spirals and becomes part of everything we do, worsening as we hit the awkward stages of puberty, continuing on to adulthood. Adulthood is where we really let other's opinions and the messed up beliefs about who and what we are cloud all we do. If we don't take the safe route and get a business degree, we may (gasp!) do something we are truly dreaming of. I took the safe route. I hated it. It worked out since I went to school for education and business, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted to have a creative job. It took me until 29 to gain the confidence to follow my dream and it has worked out in ways I couldn't imagine, at least not since I was that confident little girl. 

If we are overweight, instead of taking a stand to get healthy and feel good, we compare ourselves to others and get lost within ourselves. What we should really say is "I'm perfectly fine as I am and I will love the person I am while working to make myself the best version of ME that I can be".  If our hair isn't like a woman's hair in the shampoo commercial, or our eyes aren't the right color or our skin has wrinkles, we beat ourselves up. Why? We shouldn't want to be like the other people. We want to be US. We should wear our wrinkles like armor. They show we've lived. Some of our wrinkles show we smile and laugh a lot. What's wrong with that?

So, a sort of assignment for you all. Go back to that little girl, talk to her. Remember that feeling that you could be what you want to be and find a way to live it now, regardless of what anyone says or thinks. Second, pay attention to what you say and show to your daughters, nieces, cousins, etc. You'll notice we all do it. We have all of those beliefs we came to trust were real and we're handing them down. Instead, let's let them believe they can be anything, let them have strength, hope, and feel empowered. That's what life is all about. 

One last thing. Please consider buying a "she." t-shirt. You can click the "merchandise" link from our home page. Help us reach our goal of selling 50 by the 14th! Thank you!

XO
Nicole

These simple three words are something I try to say all of the time. I've always known the key to true happiness lies in that simple, yet horribly difficult phrase to say: “love yourself first.” However, it took me a long time to get there and I realized last week that I'm not quite fully living it. I share a bit more about me and my personal background in my meet she blog, but my story here today wouldn’t be the same without a quick overview.

I grew up with very low self-esteem and had finally been working through it when I experienced significant emotional trauma as a bystander at the Boston Marathon. It set me a back a bit and over the past 2 years my weight has fluctuated significantly (I gained almost 30 pounds after the Marathon, and have now lost almost 50!) I have recently been diagnosed with a major digestive disorder (no, not a gluten issue as I'm asked constantly) that makes it near impossible for me to eat any food without being sick. It's called leaky gut caused by an imbalance of bacteria. If you want to know more about this illness and my journey through it check out my personal blog here.

Through all of this, I have been staying strong. I didn't want to just BE sick. I figured that while I was losing weight from my illness, I wanted to also work on feeling my healthiest. Even though weight has dropped faster than I would have liked, I am working to stay strong by putting my effort at the gym into gaining muscle and strength. I didn't want to feel weak and let the illness consume me. I also have always loved when I felt strong.

So, over the past year, I have literally become a new person. I have started to love myself, flaws and all. I look at myself in the mirror and even if I see physical things I'd like to work on, I still accept them and feel good about myself. I love having strong arms and muscle and would never want to be a size 2. I accept that I am smart, emotionally strong, and a great photographer, along with many other traits I have, all things I never really believed before. I do believe these things. However, I also still have doubts and moments of being self-conscious that creep in. This became even more apparent during a photo shoot last week. 

Kiera and I got together to do some she. teaser photos with a few other people. Since we were doing that anyway, I had an idea. For six months, I had a vision in my head of some pictures of myself that I wanted. I had a pair of red heels (the ones that have become part of she.) and pictured a very urban backdrop and maybe a black dress. Well, I have been feeling so amazing with my body and inside as well and also found a black coat that just worked perfectly with what I wanted. The bonus was that Kiera's studio has a great feel outside and inside for what I was looking for. So, I asked if she'd snap some photos for me after we finished our other photos. 

I was excited and had put on the outfit the night before, feeling great. But, once I was in front of the camera, I became self conscious. I kept thinking I must be smiling badly, that maybe I looked fat. When she told me to bend my leg and put my heel up on a fire hydrant, I thought, "My leg probably looks fat like this". I felt uncomfortable in front of the camera and very exposed. 

Side note, as much as I’ve never loved having my picture taken (something caused by the way I felt about myself), I do get head shots every once in a while because I want to know what it feels like to be on the other side. I feel it helps me connect with my clients and be a better photographer overall. 

So, for half an hour of having my photos taken, I was extremely self conscious. I had fun and laughed because, well, Kiera and I always have fun. But, I was thinking of all of my "flaws" and worrying they would show. Once I saw the images, however, I realized just how crazy all of that beating myself up was. I've lost 50 pounds and yet, I still thought my leg looked "fat". And what is "fat" anyway? I wouldn't look right if my legs were any thinner than they are now. My stomach isn't completely flat and toned how I'd love it to be, but it's decent. I have a giant rib cage and I'd look really strange if I lost more weight there. If anything, i want to GAIN muscle and not actually lose any more. For the first time in my life, I actually weigh myself, but not because the number means all that much. I've always gone by how I "feel" not a number on a scale. I also look at the number differently. The number i'm at would have made me think I was overweight in the past and I do not think that any more. We have these beliefs in our heads of what we're supposed to be. I look at women of all sizes, shapes and think they are beautiful. But, I can't always think that about myself, even after working for years to get there and being the strongest, happiest, most in shape and most at peace I've ever been. For me, I carried extra weight my whole life BECAUSE of how I felt inside. I don't think I'll ever gain much back because I truly am treating my body, mind, and spirit like they are the most important things in the world. And they are. As is all of yours.

The photo shoot was eye opening to me. I realize I have to speak to myself, remind myself that I'm perfect even with the "flaws" I still notice. They are what makes me, ME. I can't beat myself up or compare myself to anyone else. I can improve on things I feel I need improvement on but without judgment. I can leave other things alone and just let them be what they are. It's not easy. I even thought I was there and obviously not quite yet. But, we all can feel that way. It will take time. It will take work. It will take a belief that you are good enough. That you are strong enough. That you are worthy and beautiful no matter what. I hope this movement helps us all to LOVE OURSELVES FIRST. 


xoxo

Nicole

Here is a look at the great images Kiera captured last week. It is the first time I've ever loved many pictures taken of me and it feels pretty damn good. 

Hi everyone! 

We are overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amount of positive feedback we are getting about this new project! Many of you are reaching out to help and are looking for ways to get involved. We'd love all of you to get on board to help keep she. viral. To help manage the flow of excitement and utilize the strengths of our faithful followers, we are asking you to please check out our website's "Get Involved" page to assess our current need. We also have a contact form on there where you can send us your ideas for how you can help and/or how we can make she. better. Right now, it is hard for us to track and follow up with the inflow of private messages and comments, so using our website process will help us greatly.  

We have also asked you to post pictures with a sign that says #sheisme and tag us! Please use the #sheisme and tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (or all of them!) We are excited to see what you come up with! 

What's Next?
We are currently organizing a free professional portrait session day in Boston in March where we will photograph females for the she. campaign. We need volunteers who want to be photographed. We also hope to take our "show on the road" and host portrait sessions across the country. If you are not located in Boston, we'd still love to hear from you so that we can assess the demand for hosting a portrait day in your area. 

We have created an application for interested participants so that we can organize and plan how many people are interested in portrait sessions and where they are located. The application takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. We'd love to hear from you. The portrait sessions will be super quick and easy shoots. You can see what they will look like on our "she. is me" page on our website. These images will be used on our website and social media. Some of the images will also be printed out and displayed at community events where we will have speakers presenting about different topics relevant to women's empowerment, health, self-esteem, etc.

We are also actively looking for sponsors to help us finance our portrait sessions, speaking engagements, and managing our campaign. We also would love to hear from folks interested in hosting or speaking at one of our community events. Check out the site and let us know what you think. You can use our general contact form to send us any suggestions you might have! Thank you again for your excitement and for bearing with us as we work our way through this awesome campaign!

xoxo-
Nicole and Kiera
Instagram: @shecampaign
Twitter: @she_Campaign

I grew up with major body image and self-esteem issues. I never thought I was good enough, pretty enough, smart enough. I had people in my life who were encouraging but I also had people who put me down and made feel like I wasn't good enough. I was teased relentlessly in elementary school despite being in the "popular crowd". Those people won, at least for a long time.  I had weight issues and would go up and down, never feeling like I was okay. The weight was due to how I felt about myself. Most of the time I thought I was "fat" I really wasn't. I would stress eat and overall, not make myself the healthiest I could be. I was so insecure, I would purposely pull away from entire groups of friends convincing myself that I didn't belong. I finally settled with a group of friends at the end of high school. I was sort of the center of the group, throwing parties, having close friendships with everyone and feeling more like I belonged.

My dream was to get out of the town I was in, where I had many things that made me feel bad and unhappy and go away to school, do a semester abroad, and backpack through Europe after college. I took a semester off after high school and then planned to move back to Charlestown and into my grandmother's house, take some community college classes and then transfer. My grandmother was  one of the most important people in my life. Nine months after I moved in, she took a bad fall and was in the hospital for months. When she came home, she only wanted me to help her. Soon after, she started to show signs of dementia, which I realized later had been slowly happening for a while at that point. Over the next few years, as I tried to balance taking college classes and trying to work to pay for those classes, she declined. I basically gave up my social life and eventually, decided to take a break from school to make sure I was home more to watch over her. My dreams were moving farther and farther away. A serious relationship I had been in since moving in with her started to be difficult due to my stress and need to be home most of the time. My family didn't want to admit something was really wrong. They didn't see her every day. They didn't see her leave the house in a winter coat in 90 degree weather. They didn't see her leave a  lit cigarette wrapped in a tissue near the front door. I luckily came home before it became  fire. They didn't see that every single day, her mind was being eaten away by an awful disease. 


It took until I reached my breaking point. My boyfriend and I broke up, I had pushed away all of my friends, and I was horribly depressed. I couldn't take it anymore and I moved out, leaving my family to take care of her and learn what was really happening . I couldn't watch her slowly forget me and basically lose her mind. This woman who had been very good to me, protective of me and who I looked up to wasn't herself at all anymore. I had a very difficult year, turning to a lot of alcohol while being on prescribed anti depressants and sleeping pills. Then, one day I woke up and decided I was done. I was going to stop this unhealthy spiral and get my life back on track. I moved back to Charlestown while my grandmother went into a nursing home. I went back to school and ended up having to stop due to a bad car accident. It was a blessing because I wasn't happy and had been taking the "safe route" of business classes. I was miserable doing that. Having to quit mid-semester made me step back and look at what I really wanted to do. I started to travel, taking my first solo trip to Italy. I nannied while I tried to figure it all out.