Women in Bathing Suits | vikramkushwah

Women in Bathing Suits.

This short series of images is the departure point for a longterm project exploring the subject of body image and diversity in the female form.

In this series of portraits, the sitters - from various ethnic backgrounds and professions - shed light on how they perceive their bodies, as well as how the complexities of their form and/or societal ideas of beauty affect their psyches.

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Luar Klinghofer, filmmaker/photographer.

“My body is very feminine. I am incredibly embarrassed by its shapes. When I was a teenager I started getting verbally harassed by boys, and hearing the way women around me spoke of their own and of others’ bodies, I spent most of the time wanting to hide it. Fighting those thoughts and feelings has been a continuous daily struggle. In recent years I have started practicing self-love, which has helped but I don’t think I could ever get rid of those thoughts completely.”

Miri Zilka, physicist.

“I have always liked how I looked. I never wanted to be taller, thinner or blond. When I was younger, I thought everyone else thought I was ugly, and that my looks would be a barrier for me to find love, yet I was still okay with what I saw in the mirror - I just assumed everyone liked their own appearance. I posted on facebook once that I wouldn't have wanted to be better looking than I was, and I was mocked for saying that. I feel like my body serves me well; I can walk, I can dance, I can hug; and I try to treat it well in return, which includes loving and accepting its imperfections. For me, my appearance is just part of who I am, a part that sits in harmony with the rest of what I have to offer.”

Julie Bolitho, writer, yoga and literature teacher.

“Despite being both a cancer survivor and a yoga teacher, I still struggle with my body image daily. Having been an overweight child and bullied in school for my weight, there are still old demons that find me when I look in the mirror and see the extra weight I carry around my thighs and my midsection. In many ways, this is why I know exactly what to say to my yoga clients struggling with self-love and body confidence, because I know what I still need to hear and integrate myself.”