What I love About My Body

Marlo Kovach, 32, Photographer and Personal Trainer, New York
"I've been doing a circuit training workout for five years, and I love the results. Having strong, toned arms makes me feel self-assured."

Michelle Grace, 42, Software Developer, Virginia
"I grew up in the 1970s when few role models had similar features. But gradually, I learned to acknowledge the things that make me stand out. My lips are full, sexy and powerful. In fact, people pay to have lips like mine!"

Maggie VanBuskirk, 25, Assistant Managing Editor, New York
"Surgery left me with scars, but while studying art history, I was surrounded by images of women, like Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Even with her small chest and fleshy belly and thighs, she was exalted as perfection. Like mine, her flaws made her unique and beautiful."

Eva Bridget, 48, Systems Analyst, Virginia
"Unlike most women's hands, mine aren't soft and squishy. But when my mother was rushed to the emergency room and I held her hand, I noticed how closely mine resemble hers. They allowed me to comfort her, as she has done so many times for me."

Joanne Ambas, 34, Regional Account Manager, California

"My legs are short and stocky and the backs of my thighs are dimply. Plus, I have two scars from a childhood injury. But I gained a newfound appreciation for them last May, as they propelled me to the finish line of my first marathon."

Mara Bragg, Freelance Writer, New York

"My breasts have helped me nourish and care for my son into toddlerhood."