MJ Day has been producing the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for nearly two decades, but this is the first year she's revealing her body in a bikini.
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In a sweet, vulnerable, and personal video on Instagram with her 2-year-old son — one that she called "equally terrifying and liberating" — MJ shared some body love in honor of the major changes made to the magazine in the 2017 issue. "This year's issue will showcase the widest diversity in SI history. Women of all ages, and shapes, and from many different backgrounds."
We've already seen some of it — actual athletes will be gracing the pages of SI this year [4] with Serena Williams, Aly Raisman, and Simone Biles [5] showcasing their strong, powerful bodies (and a whole lot of confidence) in beautiful swimwear.
This year, SI has partnered with @womenIRL [6], "an awesome online Instagram community," to celebrate "strength, beauty, and more," said MJ. "I model determination," she said in the @womenIRL video. On MJ's own Instagram account, she said, "If I'm going to talk the talk, I am going to walk the walk," and that she has "never truly felt comfortable in a swimsuit . . . even at [her] thinnest."
In her caption [7], she said, "We need to love ourselves in the present. No matter what. I invite you all to do so."