Strong Is Beautiful

(click thru this slideshow!)

From a very young age, girls and women are told how we “should” look and act. Photographer Kate Parker believes the way GIRLS should be is exactly how we are:

silly, adventurous, frustrated, happy, loud, athletic, fierce, and funny.

What started as a hobby has transformed into a stunning photo series
with a message you can’t miss: “Strong is the new pretty”.

We learned more about Kate and her daughters in a Huffington Post article by Mary Alice Stephenson, Style & Beauty Expert, Humanitarian, Mom and Founder of GLAM4GOOD, a powerful movement that creates joy, boosts self esteem and uses fashion to help heal people in a profound way.

“You don’t need to be pretty,
perfect or compliant to be loved.”

That is the message Kate used to empower her girls when she started taking their pictures. You won’t see any dolls or pink tutus in this heartwarming, energetic series that beautifully showcases what it means to be a girl now.

Parker, a photographer based in Atlanta, Ga., turned her lens on her daughters as a way to encourage them to escape the stereotypes imposed on young girls and celebrate their strengths and interests. Parker’s message to her daughters, aged 5 and 8, is:

“Be strong, be yourself, be honest
and celebrate who you are.”

Parker believes we should encourage every girl to “be an athlete, be loud, be a leader.”

She said, “I was never made to feel like I needed to be “girly” to be loved or accepted, and I wanted to impart that empowering feeling to my girls by encouraging strength, confidence, kindness as well as toughness.”