Meet the 17-year-old behind our fave new body positive superheroes

Body positive superheroes who fight sexist crime? Sign us up! This idea is amazing, and it’s all thanks to teen Tumblr user Mikhaila Nodel who runs the blog Cosmic Cuties. On her blog, she shares her drawings of superhero-eque women who don’t fit the the traditional supermodel body that most female characters are given, but kick butt being exactly who they are.

Mikhaila talks about her process:

She started the blog back in November 2014, which was a kind of sequel to the feminist work she was already doing. She left body positive zines in girls’ bathrooms (and she hopes to create more zines in the future!), but the Internet allows ideas to grow and spread in a way that the real world just can’t keep up with. This is where Mikhaila got a lot of her inspiration:

The cartoons themselves come with an extra dose of feminism, featuring banners such as “I am not an object for your sexual gratification” and “all bodies are beautiful no matter the shape or size.”

Check out some more of Mikhaila’s art:

These messages come from Mikhaila’s past issues with body image, and the general insecurities that many teen girls face as they grow up and are pushed into this world filled with mixed messages from the media. Mikhaila was bullied in the past, but after finding her school’s feminism club, she started using her artistic talents to spread positivity. She makes new art every month, and we can’t wait to see what’s next!

(Image via Cosmic Cuties.)