LONDON — A woman took her dress off, wrapped a blindfold around her eyes and standing in only her underwear asked passersby in Piccadilly Circus to draw hearts on her body.  "I'm standing for anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder or self-esteem issues like me... To support self-acceptance draw a heart on my body," Jae West's handwritten whiteboard sign read as she stood silently on the busy thoroughfare.  Although it took a few minutes, one-by-one people walked up to her, drawing hearts and expressing solidarity.  "One of the most moving and inspiring moments for me was listening to a father explain to his children what I was doing. He was acknowledging the fact that everyone should love themselves exactly as they are and appreciate the bodies that they are given. It warmed my heart to know that his children and others would grow up understanding the impact of this global issue and have a feeling of contribution after drawing a love heart on my body," she wrote in a blog post about the experiment.  "If everyone could know and appreciate how beautiful they are from childhood I think this world would be a very different place."  West, who is part of The Liberators International who stage public events around social issues, wrote that she was inspired by Amanda Palmer's 2013 TED Talk "The Art of Asking," where the singer talked about how she spent time working as a living statue handing out flowers to passersby.  Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
A woman stripped to just her underwear in central London to make an important statement about body image.