Real People Changing What “Beautiful” Means

We've long been told by society what it means to be beautiful. Just open up a glossy to see whisper-thin celebrities who've been airbrushed into oblivion. But, more often than not, that fantasy doesn't match reality. True beauty isn't so easily defined — it's about feeling comfortable in your skin and expressing that comfort and joy about who you are to the rest of the world.

So, sick of seeing the same generic ideal constantly held up as a beauty "standard," we decided to turn that notion on its head by highlighting five stylish New Yorkers who are changing the beauty game in a way we can definitely get behind. These stunning women (and man!) don’t prescribe to conventional norms. Instead, they're real representations of what beauty means in the modern world — they're diverse, confident, open-minded, nonapologetic, and distinctly one of a kind.

Click through to learn more about each and read their take on what it means to be truly beautiful in this day and age. Because that whole one-size-fits-all approach to beauty is seriously lame.