Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves

This collection of girl-power portraiture showcases the message that girls should be encouraged to be themselves, boldly and wildly, eschewing artificial stereotypes perpetuated in a toxic social media culture. Inspired by her two young daughters, Atlanta-based photographer Parker uses her lens, artistic eye, and perspective as a mother to render a beguiling corpus of images of little girls being girls, which means displaying various versions of being strong (section titles include “Wild Is Strong,” “Creative Is Strong,” and so on.) In the introduction, Parker explains, “I didn’t ask them to smile or go put on a pretty dress. I wanted to capture the girls as they were”—except in the case of her daughter Ella, who explains she was “very scared” for her first triathlon. She explains, “My mom [Parker] took this shot of me the night before and told me that even though I was afraid to race, to try to look tough and fearless.” This captures the book’s flaw: it feels contrived. Most young girls bear the marks of empowerment unselfconsciously and don’t need to be coached. Though the book is intended to celebrate girlhood, its heavy hand signals a more pointed idea of what girlhood ought to be. Photos. (Mar.)