Artist Redefines 'American Beauty' In Movie-Inspired Pics Of Real Women

No longer is the “American Beauty” moniker just reserved for the blonde, girl-next-door types. Today, beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors — and it's time we celebrate that.

That's precisely what photographer Carey Fruth does in her new photo series named after the 1999 movie “American Beauty.”

Inspired by the iconic rose petal fantasy scene in the movie (in which a middle-aged father has a sexual dream about a thin, white, blonde teenage girl), the photo series stars 14 women of different shapes, sizes and ethnicities, all posing naked on a bed of lilacs.

The goal? To inspire women to take back their power and redefine what it means to be beautiful.

Fruth explains, “Almost every image you see in the mainstream media is of one type of woman."

She clarifies the media's representation of the ideal woman is usually thin and white.

She says, “But that is not actually [what] the majority of women in our country look like."

“America is made up of all types of women.”

“Women who are hungry to see themselves represented in a beautiful way."

Fruth hopes her new series will empower women to see themselves as beautiful...

...and remind women they are not powerless; they are important.

The series features 14 portraits…

...each of a different woman lying in a bed of lilacs.

All of the women included in the series come from different backgrounds…

Are different shapes and sizes…

...and are beautiful in their own, special ways.

What could be more inspiring than that?

See more of Fruth's work here.

Citations: 14 Women Pose Naked To Redefine American Beauty On Their Own Terms (Huffington Post)