Mikhaila Nodel spills empowerment from her pen to paper, and she wants to share it with you.
The 17-year-old high school student and artist is feminism's freshest face, creating joyful illustrations about gender- and body-positivity for her Tumblr Cosmic Cuties.
After being bullied in junior high, Nodel focused on the innate beauty in every woman, regardless of her physique, sexuality or gender identity. Her high school feminism club helped surround her with love and inspiration.
In a series also called Cosmic Cuties, Nodel creates curvy goddesses who fly among the stars trumpeting acceptance.
Mashable: What inspired you to start creating this series?
Mikhaila Nodel: I guess I'm inspired by all the amazing women in my life and by my past experiences. Most of all though, I'm inspired by feminism. I think all women should feel empowered and confident in themselves. There are so many beautiful people out there who have yet to realize it, and that's so sad! Women are awesome, and we need to own it!
I made my first zine in feminism club at my school, which was created this year by a few of my friends. We have really interesting discussions about gender roles and politics concerning women, and the meetings really make me excited to go out and fight for equality. I guess Cosmic Cuties is my way of doing that. :)
What is something you would like to teach people about gender identity?
I think it's important for people to realize that there aren't just two genders. Gender is a spectrum. People can be somewhere in between male and female or even outside the binary altogether, such as agender.
Explain why body positivity is important for people your age.
Body positivity is important for everyone, but I think people my age especially need to learn about it because a lot of teenagers are very insecure. I think a lot of this can be attributed to the media. It's part of our everyday lives. There isn't a large variety of body types represented in mainstream media, so I think it's important that people realize that there isn't one singular "good" or "beautiful" body. All bodies are beautiful!
How are people reacting to your art?
It's so amazing! People are telling me that Cosmic Cuties make them feel better about themselves and that they love my art! I never expected anyone to even notice it, let alone be helping people. I feel so happy that I can do this for people, that I can actually help people with my art.
What would you like to work on next?
In terms of Cosmic Cuties? Well, I just released this month's zine, which is about fatphobia! I'm just going to keep creating them every month for now. Who knows what can come of it?