Cool Thing: The Nu Project

I’ve long been a big proponent of positive body image. For all of my youth and much of my adulthood, I’ve suffered from a self consciousness that has impacted how I see myself and how I believe that others see me. Over the past eight to ten years, I’ve learned to be happy with the way I look and fairly comfortable in my own skin. But almost every day, I speak to friends, family members and other women who have one complaint after another about their bodies. They’re too fat, their breasts are too small, stomachs are too big, they have “big” arms, are too pale, too dark (this one from some of my African American friends), too much hair, hair that’s too thin, too gray or too “nappy.” And what is the first thing that you notice upon greeting another woman (or group of women)? That’s right---we look at each other up and down, as if taking inventory of our subject’s flaws and comparing them to our own. We really need to stop doing that.
 
It was with GREAT pleasure that I discovered The Nu Project last week. A simple message—“you are beautiful”---should resonate with all of us. Creator and Photographer, Matt Blum, began this project in 2005 in Minneapolis. He began filming non-models in their homes, wearing minimal makeup, in poses that captured their true beauty. So far, over 10,000 women have applied and Matt’s website contains many beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities. The images are sensuous but not sexual, provocative but not titillating. Each truly shows the natural beauty possessed by each woman. We should all be as free and comfortable with ourselves as each of these glorious women are!

I pulled some of my favorite images from the site but please check out the project yourself by clicking here.

   

       

       



        
The smiles on the faces say it all!

What do you think of the Nu Project? Would YOU be comfortable participating in a shoot? Please share your thoughts!