Last month Aly Raisman took the stand to speak to her sexual abuser, Larry Nassar, during his trial that has sent him away to prison for 175 years. “You do realize now the women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time are now a force, and you are nothing," she said in court. Aly is just one of the 100+ victims who was abused by Larry when they were in the USA Gymnastics and Larry was their doctor.
The 23-year-old gold-medal winner has now linked up with Sports Illustrated to pose nude for the magazine, with empowering, self-picked messages written all over her body.
In the behind the scenes video below, you can see Aly posing with “trust yourself,” “live for you,” and “abuse is never okay" written on different parts of her body. See more pictures here.
“I would like to remind everyone that being a survivor is nothing to be ashamed of, and going through a hard time does not define you,” she told the magazine. “I hope that we can one day get to a point where everyone realizes that women do not have to be modest to be respected. We are free to draw confidence and happiness in our own way, and it is never for someone else to choose for us or to even judge us for that matter.”
“It’s so simple, yet so difficult for many in this industry to find control over how their identity is portrayed or interpreted or judged," MJ Day, Sports Illustrated Swim Editor said.
"We want to give this control directly to the women to own their story and image throughout the whole creative process. The results are inspiring.”