Inte- First Edition

Author’s Note

The typical magazine leaves little room for anyone who doesn’t fit the mold of what society deems worthy. The individuals featured in your typical, especially fashion, magazine often come out of the same cookie-cutter form. But not this magazine.

Inte is a celebration of what makes us different. Of what makes us beautiful. Of what makes us, well, us.

Within these pages, you will see photographs of Risdon Bradley, Dani Lee, and myself. These images capture our beauty in their rawest form. Contrary to other publications, the models have worn no make-up to cover blemishes, no blemishes have been removed in post-production, and no photoshopping has been done on our bodies. Everybody has a beautiful body and I wanted to shine a spotlight on those

of us whom society might not typically see within the pages of a magazine, but we are just as worthy as anyone else.

I hope that anyone flipping through these pages can see a little bit of themselves here. I hope that they begin to understand their worth and the beauty that encapsulates them. Each and every one of us has a story that deserves to be told.

I’m very grateful to both Dani and Risdon for putting up with me during this project and for being more than willing to be vulnerable both in front of the camera and in their messages, that you will read shortly. I hope you enjoy Inte in its earnest, and I’ll see you soon.

Credits:

Art Direction: Molly McPherson

Photography: Molly McPherson

Photography Assist: Risdon Bradley

Lighting Design: Molly McPherson

Print Design: Molly McPherson

Kindest to me how I stay kind and true to myself

Hi! I’m Risdon, I’m originally from Florida, but I moved to Eugene to be with my girlfriend for a few months before beginning my studies in Law and Politics in Scotland. I love politics and being an advocate on human rights issues, such as Palestinian and LGBTQ+ rights. I love lyricism in music, especially Holly Humberstone.

Words are very important to me, as expressed by my tattoo. I got it after my father had his heart tranvsplant in August, 2021. My tattoo is made up of lines from cards and notes he wrote me while I was living in Canada, it reads, “One day at a time. I’m so proud of you. I love you, Dad.” In such an uncertain period in both my personal life and his health, it was something

that kept me in a positive mindset and hopeful for every day. It’s a love letter both to myself and to my father, who helped me become the person I am today. One day, I hope to get a tattoo representing my mom, who taught me the epitome of kindness.

I have changed so much over time, both because of others and myself. I find my younger self grounding my current self, often when I feel or think unkind things about myself. I just think of my younger self beside me and I suddenly feel a lot kinder to my flaws. I have the hardest time with my face, both in my acne and my forehead lines. In all honesty, I’m not sure I have learned how to completely manage it. There’s a lot of times

where I look at it in the mirror and think awful things of myself, but I just try to remember who I am hurting. And my forehead lines only show a mark of all the negative and positive emotions and trials I’ve had to go through in my life and show I’m still standing in spite of it all. I would want to tell my younger self just that. That I’m out and proud, I’m a force to be reckoned with, I’m passionate and outspoken and happy with that, who I am and what I look like.

As a queer person, I used to use fashion as a way to be recognized by others in the queer community. It was a hard

dichotomy trying to blend both the harsh, conservative type of dress from my upbringing and the liberal, lesbian look. Then one day I just started finding clothes that made my tits look good, fit my hips, and made me feel good and I just stuck with that. It really wasn’t that deep anymore.

Lastly, I would like to thank Molly, my girlfriend, for putting this magazine together. It is not a body positivity magazine, it’s just a magazine of me and us and everything we are. Yes we look great in front of the camera, but not in spite of our flaws but because of them.

Fashion as art and love how my studies and my family inspire

Hi! My name is Dani and I’m from Honolulu, Hawai’i. I’m currently a junior at the University of Oregon and studying art history with the goal to one day work in an art museum in Europe. When I’m not doing schoolwork I like to draw, play video games, and listen to music. I especially love it when I’m back home, spending hours at the beach and hanging out with my friends.

I’ve always loved using fashion as a way of expressing myself. I’m a very shy, quiet person and fashion allows me to express myself in ways that don’t require talking. I always try to put effort into my outfits even if I’m just staying home, and I like to credit my mom for that. She was always

well dressed and made sure that I always looked good too. My favorite piece right now is this dark red bomber jacket with flames on it. I just think it looks so cool. I’ve been trying to get more statement pieces that are out of my comfort zone.

As for my accessories, it all stems from my grandmother. She would give me all of her old jewelry, most of them being rings and necklaces. I like to think that that’s where my love for rings came from. Everything she gave me provided an avenue to express myself in a way that wasn’t only clothes.

This is also the reason as to why I’ve started getting tattoos. My tattoo holds sentimental value and I think it’s so cool

to be able to tell your story on your skin through beautiful art. I got mine in remembrance of my grandfather, who was born in the year of the dragon. I wanted to get something that not only represented him, but also tied in my Asian heritage.

I think I’ve also used fashion to not only express myself but also hide my insecurities.

As someone with insecurities in my face, I often use the rest of my body to take the attention away. To be honest, I still struggle with this all the time, but I try to work through it every day. If I could tell a younger me something it would be to not care what other people think and that life is too short to worry about stuff like this :)

When I am at my best finding a self love in

Hello! My name is Molly. I’m currently finishing my third year of undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon. I’m studying advertising with the hopes of working professionally as either a photographer or an art director. I find joy in life through spending time with my girlfriend, my family, my friends, listening to new music, and visiting new places all over the world. I also find a great deal of happiness in the creative work that I have the pleasure of working with day in and day out.

My personal fashion has, until relatively recently, been on the backburner. I used clothes as a way to hide parts of my body that I had been ashamed of. In the past few years, however, I have grown more

my own way

comfortable experimenting with my style, and wearing clothes that I have found make me more confident with the body I have. I enjoy teetering on the line between masculinity and femininity and embracing both sides. It’s a way of expression for me and I’ve grown to find comfort in that.

Over the years I have grown more comfortable in the skin that I’m in. Never in a million years would my younger self have believed me if I told her that one day she’d look in the mirror and go, “yeah, I look good.” But that has happened more often than I ever thought it would. And though I still have a ways to go, that’s progress that deserves to be celebrated. I’ve long struggled to love my stomach

and my arms. Both are widely adorned with stretch marks that I never felt comfortable showing to the world but I’ve learned to love them and treat them as little badges of strength and honor.

Another ode to my younger self is one of my tattoos. I have two tattoos total, both representative of my parents. I have one from an early Peanuts cartoon and it’s Snoopy sniffing a flower. My dad and I went in to get Snoopy tattoos together. His is a reminder for him to let his younger self heal and come out to play. I’ve taken on that meaning as well as the meaning behind the bond my dad and I have over many things, but Snoopy being a big one. My second tattoo is of a crescent moon. I got this one because my mom always says, “I love you to the moon and back” and I always wanted to have a reminder of that with me. My tattoos have become another way for me to express myself and continue to remind me what’s most important in my life.

I grew up playing a multitude of sports. From diving to lacrosse, I feel like I played just about every sport under the sun. I was never the skinniest athlete on the field. Overtime, athleticism and healthy became synonymous with skinny. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Now removed from playing sports, I’ve had to find a way to redefine my perception of athleti-

cism and health. My perceptions of my body have always made me shy away from trying new things and made me feel like an outlier in certain spaces, but that’s not the case. Movement is a way for me to find a greater joy and love for my body and all that it can do. There doesn’t have to be anything more to it. Knowing that has helped me continue to better myself

and love my body no matter what

“shape” I’m in.