Despite spending a majority of her time on secluded beaches with scantily clad supermodels in bikinis, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue director MJ Day has never felt comfortable in a swimsuit. The editor courageously posted an Instagram video of herself in a black two-piece on Wednesday, February 15, as part of the magazine’s 2017 issue celebrating women of all sizes, and encouraged others to love their bodies despite their insecurities.
“Deep. Breath. If I’m going to talk the talk I am going to walk the walk. Please consider participating. It was equally terrifying and liberating for me,” she wrote alongside her bikini video. “Funny how I have spent my life on a beach since childhood and I have never truly felt comfortable in a swimsuit. Even at my thinnest. We need to love ourselves in the present. No matter what.”
Day added that she’s been producing the annual issue for 19 years and that today she decided to get into a bikini in honor of the mag’s #WhatIModel campaign in partnership with @WomenIRL. “This year’s issue will showcase the widest diversity of women in SI history,” she explained. “Women of all ages, and shapes, and from many different backgrounds. We want to celebrate strength, beauty, and more, so we want to know: What do you model? So I’ll kick us off. I model determination. I’m determined to get out the message that there is not a singular definition of beauty.”
Indeed, this year’s sexy Swimsuits For All issue features models of all shapes, sizes and ages, including covergirl Kate Upton and SI veteran Christie Brinkley, who returned at the age of 63 and posed alongside her daughters Alexa Ray Joel and Sailor Brinkley-Cook. The magazine also showcases Hunter McGrady, a plus-size model who has been crowned their curviest model yet.
“I want to thank @MJ_Day for an opportunity like this and for being a force in this industry and everyone at @si_swimsuit for promoting that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes,” McGrady, 23, shared on Instagram on Wednesday, along with the shot of herself in the painted-on swimsuit. “Beauty is not a number. It has no limits.”
Upton, who has starred on the cover three times now, also shared that she returned to the brand because of their uplifting message.
“To have an issue that focuses on that is really an amazing moment for me because I think it’s important for everyone to be the best they can be, but not to strive to be a company or industry’s idea of perfect,” Upton told the magazine. “For SI to emphasize every different type of perfect is really inspiring. Those are the campaigns I want to do and the career I want to have — to inspire women to love themselves.”
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