This gorgeous photo series of women’s legs celebrates body diversity (we love it, obviously)

So many women get critical when it comes to their own legs. Whether it’s the length of their stems, the shape of their calves, the circumference of their thighs, or a combination of all the above. There are so many ways we women are harsh on ourselves when it comes to the lower halves of our bodies.

That’s why we’re obsessed with photographer Stacey Baker’s Instagram: stace_a_lace. Rather than the combination of selfies and lunch shots we’ve grown Insta-accustomed to, Baker’s Instagram is a portrait series of women’s legs in New York City (and all the gorgeous shapes and sizes they come in).

Baker, upon falling in love with a rando pair of pins, will ask the owner if she can take a shot, and the lady in question is usually 100% on board for a leg portrait.

“I love the serendipity of it,” Baker told Slate. “Of seeing a subject, asking her to participate, finding a nearby wall, and making a picture. It all takes place in no more than 10 minutes. The fact that most women I approach are not only willing to stop, but also put their purse down, take off their coat, raise or tuck in their blouse and stand with their hands up — all for a complete stranger — never fails to amaze me.”

The Instagram has racked up almost 70k followers at this point, a coup for body positivity on social media. And Baker absolutely intends for this project to celebrate iterations of the female figure not always given enough love in traditional media.

“Models’ legs generally don’t make for interesting leg pictures,” she explained to Slate. “Legs with curves do and as someone who has always wanted model-thin legs, that’s good for me to see.”

Baker sees these portraits as more than just pictures of legs, for her, the legs really do become art.

“My favorite pictures are the ones that become something other than just legs; when they look like sculptures,” she told Slate.

We love that the only caption she gives the images are the cross streets on which the photo was taken. The below image? 40th between 7th and 8th.

We also totally agree with her and think these awesome gams are straight-up art. For all the great legs and great art, head over to Baker’s Insta. She also has a Tumblr called CitiLegs in which she posts the same stems with a wee bit more information (like the business or subway line the woman was at when Baker stopped her for a pic).

Here’s to body positivity, to Instagram, and to exciting and fresh ways to celebrate womanhood in all of its glory.

[Images via]