As all women remember firsthand from childhood, little girls are often given one of two labels: girly or tomboy. It’s something Alabama-based photographer Heather Mitchell recently saw happen to her own eight-year-old daughter, Paislee, at softball practice.
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“One of the moms told me (my daughter) was not athletic – that she was a girly girl,” Heather said. “I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?'” She felt the same about her other 15-year-old daughter, Ivy.
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Heather, who recalls playing sports in school and wearing makeup to all her games, firmly believes “our daughters do not have to choose.” That’s what inspired her to create a powerful photo series featuring girls as athletes and princesses.
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It started with Heather snapping photos of a fierce-looking Paislee wearing princess dresses and tiaras while posing with sports gear. She shared them on Facebook, where requests for similar photo shoots began flooding in from other parents.
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The photo sessions sold out incredibly quickly, though Heather promises more shoots will be available soon. But she isn’t leaving her fans hanging.
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The talented photographer has shared all the beautiful photos she’s taken so far in a Facebook post, writing, “Because you can do it all.”
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Heather is proud of her work, but she never imagined the response it would receive. Thousands liked, shared, and commented on her post, in love with the message it sends: girls can be and do whatever and however many things they want.
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“I hope that every little girl that sees this series can see that there is no box,” Heather said. “Whatever their dreams are, they can achieve them.”
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This is a message every little girl needs to hear! Paislee and Ivy are so lucky to have such a talented mom who always has their best interests at heart. We can’t wait until she releases more. In the meantime, you can check out Heather’s other work on Facebook.
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