Sports Illustrated is showcasing, for the first time in its 58-year history, a model with a visible C-section scar.
The spread features Kelly Hughes, a model and mother who delivered her child via C-section and has previously worked with the brand. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has historically featured photos of models, athletes, and celebrities modeling swimwear in various locales across the world ever since it was first published in 1964. Now Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s Pay With Change initiative is meant to shift the mainstream cultural narratives associated with women’s bodies.
To that end, Chelsea Hirschhorn—the founder of Frida Mom, a company whose mission is to support women through their physical transformation into motherhood—was asked to serve on the advisory board and worked with Sports Illustrated to make the Pay With Change partnership and photo happen. The goal, per a press release, was “to authentically show the beauty of motherhood and make women who’ve gone through a C-section feel proud of the way they brought a baby into the world—no matter which way—and to normalize conversation around all postpartum recoveries and bodies.”
“Joining Sports Illustrated as its first official Pay With Change brand partner is a perfect fit for Frida Mom because they have a valuable platform to disrupt the traditional narrative around women’s bodies—especially those they feature who are mothers,” Hirschhorn, a soon-to-be mom of four, tells Glamour. “We’re thrilled that Sports Illustrated Swimsuit appreciates the importance of highlighting these women authentically, C-section scars and all, and welcome the progress we will make together as a result of this shared commitment.”
For Hughes, it was the “opportunity of a lifetime” to do the shoot. “This photo is so much more than just a photo to me,” she tells Glamour. “There is an incredible shift happening in our society today with inclusivity and to be empowered by our imperfections. To be given this opportunity while showing my C-section scar for the first time ever represents more than any photo I’ve ever taken.”
