| This is the third installment of a special edition of Lily Lines featuring comics from our archive. Subscribe to get future editions here. As someone who identifies as a woman and spent my teen years in the early aughts — during the era of low-rise jeans, super skinny celebrities and countless magazines telling me how to lose weight — I'm surprised I don't have more body image issues or unrealistic beauty standards than I do. Because I definitely still do. I scrutinize myself in the mirror. I tell myself that my thighs are too large or my stomach shouldn't stick out so much. (Fun fact: It might just be your uterus!) And I'm constantly challenging my perceptions of what I consider beautiful, whether that's by not shaving or finally becoming comfortable wearing absolutely no makeup. Right now, I'm striving for body neutrality — accepting my body in its current state. Honestly, I'm just tired of constantly thinking about how it looks and how others and myself are perceiving it. Like a lot of people, I gained weight in the past year, when the world came to a halt and we spent more time than ever inside. And that's totally fine. But, it also means I have a new body and I'm learning to love it (or more realistically, just be okay with it) — as I've been trying to do for 31 years. I feel really grateful to be able to work with so many comic artists who trust The Lily to share their deeply personal experiences with body image. I admire their honesty and vulnerability and I hope you do, too. I would love to hear from you about a comic that resonated with you or if you're a comic artist who would like to work with us. | 
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