feature: black women celebrate themselves in beyond classically beautiful’s body positive series “body noire”

In the third edition of their series “Body Noire”, the team at Beyond Classically Beautiful showcases real black women and their past and present relationships with their bodies. The body positive series is an intimate, but celebratory window into the complicated dynamics many black women have with their bodies and the internal and external pressures to fit into certain standards. The series approaches these pressures from many different insecurities, ranging from feeling “too” skinny, “too” fat, “too” in shape, or just “too” black and how these women came out on the other side. “The most amazing thing about my body is everything. It’s me. Whenever I look at my body in the mirror I love pretty much every part of it, especially my stomach,” says artist Roseline Lawrence. See the photos, courtesy of Beyond Classically Beautiful, down below and read more of their stories right here.

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Credits

Art Director:
Abi Ishola, Editor-in-Chief
BeyondClassicallyBeautiful.com

Photography:
Kunle Ayodeji
AyodejiPhotography.com

Makeup/Hair/Concept:
Yetty Bames, Beauty Editor-at-Large, BeyondClassicallyBeautiful.com
YettyBames.com

Styling:
Tanya Jean-Baptiste, ClothesConscienceBlog.Wordpress.com
Abi Ishola

Associate Producer:
Jaynelle Stewart, Beauty Editor BeyondClassicallyBeautiful.com

Models:
Xiomara Small
Christine Patrick, cppatrick.com
Roseline Lawrence
Tyde-Courtney Edwards, @curvyballerina
Latarria Coyia Whitehead, AllThingsCoyia.com

Clothing:
Christine is wearing:
Natasha Back Zip Maillot, by Vitamin A Swimwear, VitaminASwim.com
Xiomara is wearing:
Tatiana Triangle & Tatiana Hipster by, Vitamin A Swimwear, VitaminASwim.com
Marshelly’s (Katana Collection)
Pave Katana Ring, sterling silver
Copula bangles (silver)
Roseline is wearing:
Cage One Piece by, Forever21
Latarria is wearing:
Peixoto Swim
Name: Bella top (1210)
Color: Black (S46)
www.shopbop.com
&
KORE SWIM
Ceres bottom, onyx
www.korewear.com
Copula bangles (silver and gold)
Tyde-Courtney is wearing:
Velvet Spyhnx
The Marco Suit in Scorpion, www.velvetsphynx.com
Videography:
Duane Ferguson
Music for BTS video:
“Julius Caesar,” (Ryan Little) / CC BY 4.0
Special thanks to Yaya Publicity!

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.