One Photographer Uses Glitter to Send a Powerful Message About Beauty Standards

There are so many things we hide as women — cramps, tears, body hair. It's considered a faux pas to talk about any bodily functions in public, even though they are as natural to our bodies as breathing. We put on a brave face in order to look flawless, but photographer Hannah Altman encourages us to get real in her And Everything Nice series.

She used her camera to capture women in their most vulnerable states, and every body fluid is replaced with glitter. Vomit is represented by green confetti, blood is marked with red sparkles, and tears are blue streams of glitter. "The glitter in these images then stands out because it is the only facet of the photo that is abnormal," Altman wrote on her site. "The women models do not seem to acknowledge the glitter as something any different than natural body fluid, which supplements the idea that women have been conditioned to go to any length in order [to] keep up an attractive appearance." This is what being a woman really looks like. It's not all mascara and bows, it gets gross (and bloody) sometimes. Don't like it? Tough sh*t.