6 women prove that every body is sexy in this empowering photo series

All women should feel sexy no matter their shape or size, and that’s what influencer Meg Boggs is out to prove. The 31-year-old mom and blogger joined forces with other influencers and Health’s WomenIRL to create a campaign that encourages women to feel sexy in their own skin.

Boggs explained that feeling sexy didn’t always come easily to her.

Boggs spoke to her friend Bethanie Garcia, and the two came up with the idea to launch a campaign that features women sharing how they came to embrace sexy, too. So Boggs rounded up four other influencers—and the results are stunning.

Meg Boggs of @meg.boggs

“I would have never described myself as sexy. Sexy, in my previous mindset, was anything but me. It wasn’t a word to describe me or my body. In fact, sexy felt out of reach for me.

I thought sexy looked one way. Had one style. Could only be acknowledged in one body type. Be one certain type of experience. I would read magazine headlines about how to achieve the ultimate sexiness. The very best version of sexy. And I believed that for such a long time. It all felt so unachievable for me.

Towards the end of my 20s, I began to mourn the loss of my ‘sexy dream body’ goals. When I sort of realized that it’s something I would never have. But… a shift around me was happening. Every now and then, my eye would catch the glimpse of a woman who looked similar to me… completely owning her body.

Owning her sexiness. Owning who she was as a woman. And it sort of hit me like a ton of bricks. Wait, does that mean I’m… sexy too? Can I find confidence too? My feelings around this were swirling and brewing. Woah. This was big. This was the power of positive influence that was creating this much needed shift.

Little moments started happening where I’d feel it. I’d actually feel sexy. These feelings turned into visual moments. I’d see a sexy body as I locked eyes with myself during mirror moments. And my visual moments turned into flooding thoughts. I’d mix my visual and emotional cues, allowing myself the permission to embrace what was happening.

Bethanie Garcia of @thegarciadiaries

“I teamed up with @womenIRL and a group of powerful women to share what makes us feel SEXY in our own skin. Once I became a mom, I feel like all sexiness went out the window. I spent the first several years of motherhood feeling anything but sexy. My body had endured so many changes and I honestly didn’t recognize the woman I saw staring back at me in the mirror.

My husband always wanted me and told me how beautiful and sexy I was, but those words didn’t make me feel any better about myself internally. They were like little Band-Aids that made me feel better for a moment, but the wound was still open and there. Once I started my journey towards self-love and body positivity, there was a huge shift in my mentality. I started loving my body, appreciating my body, seeing my body for what it was.

And once I was actively appreciating and loving my body, I couldn’t help but see it as sexy. I started flirting and teasing my husband and wearing lingerie I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing before. I started seeing every roll and curve and dimple as beautiful. I started feeling sexy for living my life unapologetically—regardless of my size. I wasn’t worried about what people think or what society’s definition of sexy is.

I feel sexy in my skin and I am thankful every day for this body of mine.”

Hunter Premo of @hunterpremo

“I’m proud to be partnering with @womenIRL and these powerful women to share what makes us feel SEXY.

So what makes me feel sexy? Looking in the mirror and feeling confident and PROUD of my body. I struggled with an eating disorder for several years and the way I looked consumed my entire mind. I wanted to look perfect more than anything in the world and it took so much out of me. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that there is only one me and I’m comfortable with who I am.

I didn’t see anyone with my body type growing up and I still don’t see a lot of it in the media today. In a world filled with comparison on social media, I continually have to remind myself that I am strong, sexy and beautiful just the way I am. My husband, Cameron, has been by my side for 10+ years now, has seen me in every form and his love for me hasn’t changed. Even though he has always made me feel beautiful, there is nothing that can replace the kind of confidence that comes from within.”

Fatima Dedrickson of @stylefitfatty

“I’ve teamed up with @womenIRL and a group of amazing women to share what makes us feel sexy in our own skin. Did you notice how I said FEEL and not look? To be completely honest and transparent, last year was the first time in who knows how long that I remember saying out loud ‘I feel sexy.’ That’s 3 kids later…THREE!!

I remember after I had Kingston, I decided I needed to find myself and that confidence in me again.

Being pregnant isn’t always glamorous. So how do you feel sexy pregnant when you have swollen feet, heartburn, gained weight, feeling sick? Confidence. Its all about how you feel about yourself regardless of the changes.

As I watch my body go through another phase, I can’t help but smile. Because Im confident in my own skin. I found myself again; I stopped caring what others thought and cared about how I felt about me. I started to appreciate my own journey and realized how far I had traveled. I’m thankful for my body and being able to grow another baby. Sexy has no size. To me, confidence is sexy.”

Christina and Katie Bailey of @babybaileymamadrama

Christina: “I feel beautiful and sexy when I dress up and get ready for the day. Sometimes it is easy to get used to being in my lazy, lounging clothes when I know I am going to be chasing our kids around all day. However, when I get ready for the day and do my hair and makeup, I feel like my wife and I are dating all over again.”

Katie: “I feel sexy and beautiful when I work out and eat healthy. I feel my best after I know I have done what I can to make sure my body is healthy. This makes me feel sexy because I like the way I feel in a body that I try my best to keep in good health.”

Sarah Landry of @thebirdspapaya

“Sexy to me used to feel like something you had to do or be that was uncomfortable. From wires, hooks, and itchy lace, to a projection of my body to others with this idea that I had to be something entirely different, something uncomfortable. Not because I wanted to, but because I felt I HAD to.

In time, and through disappointment, I found that sexy feeling and it was in something much more intimate. It was a homecoming. It was being myself. Finding confidence in who I was. Acknowledging myself as worthy. It was sometimes a bright red lipstick, and others times the morning glow of a freshly-rested undone face.

It was in letting go of the preconceived notions I’d placed on myself to be something or someone else. It was in being me. And how powerful that was to be.”