Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue features unedited photos for first time ever

'This is for every girl who never felt like she could live up to unrealistic images in magazines'

Sports Illustrated’s latest issue includes unedited photos for the first time ever.

This month, the magazine launched its 2018 Swimsuit Edition in dedication to the #MeToo movement with a nude photoshoot featuring one of its most diverse line-ups yet.

The cast is made up of five mothers, five world-famous athletes, four published authors, two plus-size women, an all-female crew, and features the third black woman ever to appear on the cover since the annual issue launched in 1964.

And, while all of this is seriously impressive it’s the absence of photoshop that has really set tongues wagging.

For the first time ever Sports Illustrated has featured a series of unedited photos for its “In Her Words” spread in a bid to champion female empowerment and challenge the way that women are presented in the media.

Now, one of the cast’s plus-size models – Hunter McGrady - has spoken out about what the provocative photoshoot means to her.

For McGrady, the shoot was about so much more than simply creating beautiful photos for a magazine, it was a chance to speak to women on a very real level and quickly became “a very personal, intimate, empowering and profound moment in our lives,” she explained to Sports Illustrated.

“A blinded and brainwashed society has tried to convince me that as a tall blonde woman with a pretty face, I’d never be taken seriously.

“Additionally, I was told that I would never make it as a model because I wasn’t thin enough, had stretch marks, cellulite on my legs, rolls when I sat down, and less than perfect skin.”

However, McGrady says that she realised nothing was more disheartening than trying to be someone she’s not, and as such, embraced the concept behind the “In Her Words” spread entirely.

“This particular shoot is for every little girl who has never felt like she could live up to the expectations and unrealistic, inauthentic images she sees daily in the magazines, on TV, in the movies, and on billboards blanketing the world,” she said.

“This issue, this shoot, these personal and honest words are for you. We want you to know we hear you, we see you, you matter.”