The three Sports Illustrated S Swimsuit Edition covers released on February 13 feature an unexpected array of body positivity and diversity—from plus-size models to the use of body paint to support for mixed martial arts stars. Ronda Rousey is the cover girl of Sports Illustrated , sharing the cover with curvaceous model Ashley Graham and straight-leg model Hailey Clauson. Clearly, the publication is making history, not just for women who care about representation, but for itself. Through its three cover stars, all of whom come from different backgrounds and have noticeably different body types, SI demonstrates what diversity means: the visibility of all different types of humans.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated.com, Assistant Editor-in-Chief MJ Day revealed that the decision was conscious and intended to help further promote body positivity and spread self-love to all women reading the latest issue. “Every woman who is booked in this magazine deserves to be on the cover. The collective beauty in the magazine is overwhelming. SI has always been and will always be about the models; the photos you see here are the right ones. Their celebration.”
"Three covers of Hailey, Ronda and Ashley celebrate the new SI Swimsuit. These three women are beautiful, sexy and strong. Beauty is not cookie-cutter. Beauty is not 'one size fits all'. Beauty is all around us, and that's That became especially apparent as I photographed and edited this year’s issue,” she added.
Discussing the publication's decision to feature Rousey on its cover, Day said: "Ronda Rousey is a cultural phenomenon. She is the perfect combination of beauty, brains, physical strength and humility. She has a presence larger than the space around her. Spirit, and she is a phoenix, as contagious and inspiring as any mythical creature ever depicted."
She's right: Rousey may tick all the boxes of traditional beauty, but she's certainly an inspiration to women in sports and to those who choose to pursue their dreams in a male-dominated industry. Her athletic figure has helped her through a successful career and deserves just as much appreciation and recognition as a model with traditional or curvy proportions.
The MMA star didn't even wear a traditional swimsuit in this issue of Sports Illustrated , instead wearing body paint for the shoot. In her TEDx talk, Michelle Wallen discussed body painting as a body-positive practice because you're actually painting art on your naked body. To me, this definitely makes Rousey's cover revolutionary in more ways than one.
The three different types of bodies highlighted on the cover of Sports Illustrated hopefully show that more body positivity is coming from places we don't necessarily expect. While women-centric magazines have long championed this movement online, it's great to see these good words being spread in more mainstream publications and reaching more people.
Photo: Courtesy of Sports Illustrated (2)
