Today’s edition of Vox was published with two different covers. Our readers who pick up the magazine on a newsstand will receive the first cover pictured above (Bearded Lady Tells All!) and our readers who get the magazine inside the Columbia Missourian will receive the second cover pictured above (Framing Filmmaking’s Future).

We went with two covers not because we couldn’t make up our minds, but to give different experiences to different readers. Each cover, however, has the something in common: strong, passionate women with stories to tell.

We decided to put the first cover on the newsstand for several reasons. First and foremost, the image is unusual: You don’t see women with beards on magazine covers every day as you walk down the street. Secondly, the bright colors and bold typography give the feel of a tabloid — publications built specifically to catch eyes on newsstands.

But Jennifer Miller, the bearded woman, is more than a circus performer or tabloid cover subject. As you’ll find out in our interview, she’s a playwright, political and social activist, and humanities and media studies professor at the Pratt Institute of Art and Design. She’s challenging norms, she’s blurring gender lines and she’s proving that we can take charge over what it means to be a woman.

Our second cover is more understated, but the subjects of it are just as inspirational. Before they can legally drive, the young women in the Citizen Jane Film Academy are stepping up and learning to make films. Just like Miller, they’re challenging what girls are told about what it means to be a woman.  The Real Princesses, written, directed and produced by students of the film academy will take a look at what Disney princesses tell us about femininity from childhood on.

Although they might be experienced beyond their years, they know how to have fun! Check out more images from our cover shoot on page 13 or online.