ESPN Body Issue 2011: Groundbreaking Issue Shows That Beauty Comes in All Forms

So often, you hear that we should appreciate true beauty in all forms. In a world that is filled with all things superficial, it's rare when this actually happens.

More often than not, beauty is still seen as being a certain way. Anyone or anything that doesn't fit into a certain mold can't be considered beautiful in the eyes of so many.

ESPN The Magazine, of all things, has done a great job of showing us that beauty truly does come in all forms by publishing their now-annual Body Issue.

In the annual issue, ESPN gives the reader a series of tastefully done nude portraits of athletes of all different shapes, sizes and backgrounds.

That's not to say that there aren't athletes in this issue that fit in the traditional mold of "beautiful," because there are.

Hope Solo, Gretchen Bleiler and Alicia Sacramone are just three of the female athletes that fit this bill.

But there are also some that you might not have expected, not the least of which is Jeremy Campbell, a 24-year-old Paralympian with a prosthetic leg.

In the excerpt about Campbell, he says that he has been living with the prosthesis since he was a year old and that he has never let it hamper him.

In high school, he was able to be an all-district performer in football, basketball and track. He admits that in football, most teams were unaware that he had a prosthetic leg. If his level of success in the face of adversity isn't beautiful, I don't know what is.

Then there is also the story of professional bowler Kelly Kulick. She admits that, as a youngster, she was very insecure about her large frame and that these portraits really allowed her to feel comfortable in her own skin.

That's a beautiful thing.

One issue a year of ESPN The Magazine unfortunately isn't going to change the way we collectively think of beauty as a society, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.