Inspired by photos she was taking of her own daughters,
Kate T Parker went further to photograph girls around
America. The result is an inspiring and beautiful book of
candid photos and quotes from girls aged five years to
sixteen. STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY is proven by the fact
that these tremendous and achieving girls are
skateboarding, swimming, ballet dancing, gaining karate
belts, playing football, even piloting a plane.
We are all most beautiful when we are young. Every one of
these girls is lovely. Some of the girls are covered in
mud; others wear sports clothes or cadet uniform, or their
faces shout grim determination as they complete a cross-
country run. They are using their bodies as we were meant
to do. The young cheerleaders speak of the strength,
training and co-ordination required to succeed at this
physical sport. The young horsewoman speaks of trusting her
life to an animal four times her size, knowing that she
can't outmuscle a horse. A much younger girl tells us
earnestly that we need to be delicate when handling small
creatures like birds. Several girls comment on how
supportive friends are, and how important it is to be a
friend, or a sister. Some of the girls featured have a
disability or have survived illness - which in no way stops
them from leading full lives.
Kate T Parker explains that when she was a little girl she
insisted on having her hair cut short so she could be like
her brothers. Just the same as me! Pretty comes from inner
confidence, and physical activity, ideally outdoors, builds
confidence. Kate has collaborated with Girls On The Run and
has started a non-profit group. StrongIsTheNewPretty.org
aims to provide equipment, coaching and sponsorship to
disadvantaged girls.
If you want a book to give you faith in the future, or pick
you up when you are feeling gloomy, I can recommend STRONG
IS THE NEW PRETTY. Young women are our future. Let them
learn and grow. Let them be themselves.
Girls being fearless. Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. So simple and yet so powerful, Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves. Real beauty isn’t about being a certain size, acting a certain way, wearing the right clothes, or having your hair done (or even brushed). Real beauty is about being your authentic self and owning it. Kate T. Parker is a professional photographer who finds the real beauty in girls, capturing it for all the world to see in candid and arresting images. A celebration, a catalog of spirit in words and smiles, an affirmation of the fact that it’s what’s inside you that counts, Strong Is the New Pretty conveys a powerful message for every girl, for every mother and father of a girl, for every coach and mentor and teacher, for everyone in the village that it takes to raise a strong and self-confident person.
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