To highlight the unrealistic beauty standards women are held to by the media, 24-year-old blogger Sarah Coffman has started a photo series that reveals the damaging effects.
Titled ‘Line Series’, it references how women are conditioned to fit within the boundaries of youth, thinness, prettiness, niceness, toughness and being able enough, without becoming “too much”, said Coffman to BuzzFeed.
“If you want to be socially acceptable you need to keep yourself inside the lines,” she added.
She gathered a few friends and had them pose in their underwear while reading magazines. They also singled out each other’s “imperfections” by drawing lines on their bodies with a Sharpie, like what a plastic surgeon would do.
Coffman said she was inspired to embark on her series by how the media portrays women and their bodies.
She also points out that women are their harshest critic and often put each other down with negative remarks like “fat” or “slutty”, which in turn gives men and the media permission to use the same words on them.
Ultimately, Coffman hopes her series will encourage people to stop judging women by their size. “We are so much more than the bodies we live in.”
Check out some images from her project below and view more at BuzzFeed.
[via BuzzFeed, images by TJ Smalls via BuzzFeed]