Happy Mother’s Day to All You Beautiful Mamas

For young girls, some of their earliest notions of beauty come from their mothers, what they say overtly and how they see their mothers relating to their own bodies. “[My mother has] taught me so much about confidence and beauty—true beauty, inner beauty,” says SI Swimsuit rookie Kamie Crawford. Beauty can be so many different things to different people, and motherhood has its own intrinsic beauty.

With so many Swimsuit veterans like Emily DiDonato and Hunter McGrady openly talking about their experiences as new mothers, it is clear that this platform has become a space for women to find community through sharing their stories and proudly showcasing the evolution of their bodies throughout various stages of their life. Katrina Scott was just announced as the first visibly pregnant woman to grace the pages of the magazine. Said Scott of her recent shoot, “There may be dimples, cellulite, stretch marks, more curves, but I think that that is what comes with creating life and isn’t that so amazing?”

Scott continues, “I would never want either of my daughters to ever feel like I was ever uncomfortable creating them; that I was ever insecure with them inside my belly, like they would ruin my body…I want them to know they made my life.” (How cool is it that Scott’s little girl gets to look back at the 2022 issue and say that she’s already been in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit?) Many women often feel they have to hide their pregnant bodies, only to work to bounce back and show their body once again, trying to recreate their pre-baby bodies. Scott’s inclusion in the issue combats this narrative. The normalization of the changes the female body naturally goes through can be life-changing.

McGrady, back for her fifth appearance in the issue and shooting for the first time since having her son, Hudson, last year, says, “I want my children to grow up seeing themselves represented whoever they end up being whoever they are, and that starts now.”

Stay tuned for the new 2022 Issue available starting May 19.

From the archive: Take a look back at one of our favorite shoots when Christie Brinkley posed for SI Swimsuit at 63 with her two daughters.