“Strong is the New Pretty” and “The Heart of a Boy”
Kate T. Parker
While professional photographer Kate T. Parker was taking pictures of her two daughters and their friends, she realized that the photographs that resonated the most for her were the ones where the girls were being 100 percent themselves. She states, “When they were messy and funny and stubborn and joyful and in your face, I kept shooting. I didn’t ask them to smile or go put on a pretty dress. I wanted to capture these girls as they were, and how they were amazing.”
Photographing her daughters and their friends evolved into photographing nearly 200 girls from all over North America. These pictures then became a 2017 book titled “Strong Is the New Pretty.” Kate’s goal was to inspire girls to be their best selves, whether playing soccer or football, building a clubhouse in the woods, swimming with friends, baking, dancing, getting a pilot’s license at age 16, or recovering from an accident. A quote from a 14-year-old in the book reads, “The car knocked me down and broke my bones, but my survival pushes me to be the best Shelcey I can be no matter what.”
Girls from age 5 through 18 are pictured doing many different activities, and the pictures are accompanied by quotes from the girls. From Grace B. age 12, “Cancer stole part of my leg but not my joy. I choose happiness. Being happy is my superpower.” What a great spirit!
After the success of her first book about girls, Kate started to receive questions asking, “Where is the book about boys?” She admits that at first she thought that only girls’ voices needed to be heard because as she says, “With my girls, I witnessed firsthand how society tries to shoehorn girls and women into a very narrow set of expectations.” But she realized that boys need the acknowledgement of all they are too, so she created “The Heart of a Boy.”
Kate states, “The vulnerability, kindness, and softness that I so admired in the boys I was photographing aren’t generally applauded.” One of her goals with “The Heart of a Boy,” just published this year, is to let boys know they don’t need to hide their gentler side.
Boys are shown being silly, being vulnerable, being strong, being kind, playing sports, doing ballet, and challenging themselves individually or as part of a team. One boy is climbing a tree with a prosthetic leg, and another survived cardiac arrest at age 10. Rohann, age 9 says, “I like cooking better than sports. In sports, you can’t change up the rules. You have to dribble the ball or pass the ball a certain way. But with recipes, you can change them up and still have something great to eat.”
And Nolan, age 15, offers some great advice, “You need to be kind to others. You need to respect differences and be objective. Never carry your opinion as fact and always listen and be open-minded. Share information that could be helpful to others and never be greedy. Try to be perfect, but know you never will be. In short, be a good person.”
I recommend these books to anyone who has young children or is involved with young children. The photographs are lovely and the quotes from the girls and boys are funny, honest and inspiring. In the introduction to “The Heart of a Boy,” Kate T. Parker says, “We all want love and acceptance for who we are. It’s not a girl message or a boy message, it’s a human message.”
Reviewed by Debbie Shannon Schmidt
