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A mom was told her daughter was too girly to play sports so she planned epic photoshoot

Girls don't have to choose between sparkly or sporty.

HMP Couture Imagery

Some of the HMP Couture sports models showing off their girly and athletic sides

We're lucky to live in a time where women's sports are getting serious attention. Thanks to breakout stars like Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles, and more, women's athletics is actually starting to get the respect it deserves. More and more young girls are now able to see themselves competing at the highest levels, and they have the role models to follow in order to get there.

But, frustratingly, girls in sports are subject to double standards that men don't have to give a second though. One major issue is that girls who are too "pretty" have trouble being taken seriously as athletes, and they're constantly criticized and underestimated. (All the while, being too muscular or "manly" opens up athletes to a whole different kind of scrutiny.)

So this one's for the girls who know you don't have to chose between sparkles and sports. For too long, girls have been sent the message that they have to be either/or. You're either a girly-girl or a tomboy. You're either into sparkly princesses or sports practices. From the early days of childhood, we're told in bold and subtle ways to squeeze ourselves into separate boxes. But those boxes are bullspit, and most of us know it. Girls don't have to choose between feeling beautiful and being badass. We can be both at the same time.

Perhaps that's why a portrait shoot shared by HMP Couture Imagery showing girls dressed up in fancy dresses andsports equipment has gone insanely viral.

The shoot is called "Because you can do it all," and since its posting it has been shared over 200,000 times.

The woman who photographed the shoot says a comment from a fellow mom sparked the idea.

Heather Mitchell, the photographer from Alabama who runs HMP Couture Imagery, told Upworthy how the portrait shoot came about.

"My youngest daughter is 8 and she is trying softball this year for the first time," said Mitchell. "We were at practice a few weeks ago and I was talking with the other moms. I was saying that I hoped Paislee learned to love the game because she was athletic. One of the moms told me that she was not athletic, that she was a girly-girl."

"I couldn't sleep that night," Mitchell continued. "All I could think was, 'Why does she have to choose?' I played every sport my school offered and wore lipstick to every game. So the next day we went to the studio and created her shot."

Mitchell says she only spent about three minutes shooting because she knew exactly what she wanted to create. After she posted the photos of Paislee to her personal Facebook page, she got a ton of requests from other parents for the same kind of shoot. After adding two days to the schedule, they sold out in an hour—and the requests just keep on coming.

The sparkly-sporty shoots continue to be one of Mitchells most popular bookings.

Mitchell hopes that girls see these photos and realize that they don't have to choose one identity.

The idea that crinoline and cleats can't exist in the same mental space is silly, but common. Girls (and boys for that matter) can love pretty things and kick butt at sports. They don't have to be one thing or the other.

"My parent taught me that I could be anything I wanted growing up," Mitchell told Upworthy. "I didn't realize till I was much older that everyone is not that blessed."

The photos going so viral has not only been good for the photography business, its helped spread the message far and wide.

These photos are an excellent reminder to questions our assumptions and not place unnecessary limits on anyone—and an empowering example for girls who don't fit neatly into a socially constructed box.

After all, even someone like Caitlin Clark likes to wear a fancy dress every now and then. And her athleticism and impact on the sport is not up for debate because of it.

"I hope that every little girl that sees this series can see that there is no box," says Mitchell. "Whatever their dreams are they can achieve."

This article originally appeared six years ago. It had been updated.

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This viral tweet from Serena Williams shows just what a shared experience parenting is.

Serena Williams always keeps it real about being a mom.

The tennis great kills it on the court, but she's also been brutally honest about what it's like to raise a child, detailing both the scary (as she experienced complications after childbirth) and rewarding moments of becoming a mother.

Her honesty has led other women to come out about their own struggles too.

Mama bear and baby cub #beingSerena @hbo

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on

In July, Williams got real once again, sharing one of the tough realities of being a parent.

Williams, who just returned to the courts in May, opened up on Twitter that she'd missed one of daughter Alexis Olympia's major milestones while at Wimbledon.

Missing those big moments is something a lot of parents experience — and many chimed in with words of support.

Alison Bender, a soccer presenter who was at the World Cup at the time, shared that she had to watch her little one take their first steps via video.

Chrissy Teigen, mother of all social media, picked up her scepter of truth to offer Williams a positive way to reframe it.

And journalist Raakhee Mirchandani weighed in, so that Williams knew that all the effort she was putting in on the court was inspiring her daughter's future.

Thousands upon thousands of people responded to Williams, offering words of encouragement — "She missed you winning 23 grand slam titles but will still know you’re the best tennis player of all time" — dropping truth bombs (it's just not the parents who experience those milestone moments), and even sharing some of the hilarious lengths people have gone to in attempts to "postpone" major moments until a parent can see.

Williams is at the top of her game. That's why sharing her struggles has such an impact.

There's no such thing as a "perfect" parent. Serena Williams' honesty and #RealTalk — both in good and more difficult times — pushes the conversation forward, creating an environment that encourages parents to speak out and support one another.

Parenting is hard. Balancing that with work can feel, as Williams notes, impossible. Sacrifices have to be made. But it doesn't mean the feelings they create have to be silent.

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The 'catsuit' Serena Williams wore to the French Open is mom goals.

Serena Williams has returned — and in spectacular fashion.

For the first time since giving birth to her daughter, the 36-year-old entered Grand Slam play at the 2018 French Open in Paris, dominating Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in straight sets.

But it was the message behind her uniform that got many fans talking.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.

All-black, with an eye-catching neon stripe wrapped around the middle, the uniform's symbolism resonated far outside the stadium.

"I feel like a warrior in it — like a warrior princess kind of," the tennis star explained. "(A) queen from Wakanda."

Wakanda, of course, is the fictional, mystical African nation home to Marvel's Black Panther. The superhero film tore up the box office earlier this year, earned rave reviews from critics, and inspired a wave of black pride fashion amongst the film's stars and moviegoers.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.

Her "Black Panther" get-up quickly sent Twitter abuzz with the term "catsuit," as Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim pointed out in an interview with the athlete shortly after her victory.

"You can't beat a catsuit, right?" Williams said with a smile.

"[This uniform represents] all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce in the middle of everything."

The uniform's design had a practical use for this fierce new mom too: Its extra-snug fit helped prevent blood clots, according to The Guardian.

And for Williams, that feature is critical.

The tennis champ has been candid about the health challenges she's endured since giving birth.

Her daughter was born via emergency C-section after the baby's heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions, the tennis star wrote for CNN in February. In the following days, a number of health complications — including a pulmonary embolism in Williams' lungs, a large swelling of clotted blood in her abdomen, and a tear in her C-section wound due to intense coughing — made her road to recovery anything but smooth.

"I almost died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia," Williams wrote, noting how lucky she was to have had quality health care — unlike many new parents in the U.S. and around the world. "I consider myself fortunate."

Williams' story and circumstances are uniquely hers, of course.

Not every new parent is a wealthy, world-renowned athlete with the type of resources and luxuries at their disposal to be winning Grand Slam matches mere months after giving birth.

But Williams — in her marvelous catsuit — still has a message for new parents that's good to keep in mind: You got this.

"For all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy — here you go," the star wrote on Twitter, sharing an image of her competing in Paris. "If I can do it, so can you. Love you all!!"

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Serena Williams almost died after giving birth. Here's what she learned.

She was lucky. Many others aren't, but we can fix that.

In a new blog post, tennis superstar Serena Williams opened up about how she almost died after giving birth.

"I almost died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia," she writes. "Yet I consider myself fortunate."

Williams explains that after giving birth, she had a pulmonary embolism, or blocked arteries in her lungs. This caused her to cough, violently, tearing open the newly-stitched C-section wound. Doctors discovered blood clots in her abdomen, but were able to treat her in time to save her life. It was the type of experience you wouldn't expect of a wealthy world-class athlete like Williams, but her experience speaks to just how common these sorts of complications can be — and just how lucky she is to have survived.

Infant and maternal mortality is an issue that doesn't get talked about nearly enough. Williams wants to change that.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women in the United States are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes," she writes. "But this is not just a challenge in the United States. Around the world, thousands of women struggle to give birth in the poorest countries. When they have complications like mine, there are often no drugs, health facilities or doctors to save them. If they don't want to give birth at home, they have to travel great distances at the height of pregnancy. Before they even bring a new life into this world, the cards are already stacked against them."

Williams is right. According to the CDC, black women face a maternal mortality rate of 44 deaths for every 100,000 live births. Compared to the rate for white women (13 deaths per 100,000 births) or women of other races (14 deaths per 100,000 births), the black maternal mortality rate sticks out. A 2017 NPR/Propublica investigation into that disparity found that a number of factors, such as income and unconscious bias, likely play some role but other unknown factors remain.

Infant and child mortality rates remain higher in the U.S. than other wealthy countries, due in part to the country's distinction as one of the only not to guarantee health care to its citizens.

Just how I look at her

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on

There are things we can do to better protect the health of mothers and their newborns around the world, but we need to acknowledge the issue first.

Williams goes on to share the story of a woman named Mary from Malawi. Mary's baby died shortly after birth. Every year, 2,600 babies will die within 24 hours of birth; 2.6 million won't make it through their first month. UNICEF estimates that more than 80% of these early deaths are preventable, so why don't we do more about it?

"We know simple solutions exist, like access to midwives and functional health facilities, along with breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, clean water, basic drugs and good nutrition," Williams writes. "Yet we are not doing our part. We are not rising to the challenge to help the women of the world."

"Mary's baby died because there weren't enough doctors or nurses to save him. This is a chronic problem plaguing the most impoverished countries. But what if we lived in a world where there were enough birth attendants? Where there was no shortage of access to health facilities nearby? Where lifesaving drugs and clean water were easily available to all? Where midwives could help and advise mothers after birth? What if we lived in a world where every mother and newborn could receive affordable health care and thrive in life?That world is possible. And we must dare to dream it for every black woman, for every woman in Malawi, and for every mother out there."

Thankfully, both Williams and her daughter are healthy and prepared for bright futures. Let's all do our part to make that a reality for more new moms and their children.

Williams closes her essay by calling on readers to "demand governments, businesses and health care providers do more to save these precious lives" and to support groups like UNICEF in their efforts to reduce infant and maternal mortality around the world.

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