Ashley Graham is a model, designer, businesswoman, and inspirational speaker, but chances are most people don’t know who she is. Add two words into that sentence and you’re given the reason why. Ashley Graham is plus-sized model, designer, businesswoman, and inspirational speaker. But as of Saturday she’s now the first plus-sized woman to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
Along with UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and model Hailey Clauson, Graham will get her own cover of the famous issue. You may not have heard of her, but Graham is no stranger to the spotlight. She’s been in magazines like Vogue, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, and on the cover of Elle Quebec. She also gives an amazing Ted Talk if you ever need a little body positivity in your life.
This cover is a huge step as the fashion and entertainment industries are inching slowly towards inclusiveness of all bodies. Last year, Robin Lawley became the first plus-size model to win a spot in the issue — although it’s hard to fathom that she’s truly considered plus-size — while Ashley Graham was featured in an advertisement. Having only two plus-sized models in a magazine filled with typical models might not seem like much, but it signifies a willingness to change that wasn’t there before.
An estimated 18 million women buy the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition every year, which means that looking at the statistics about women's bodies in the United States, there is a very high chance those women won’t see anyone who looks remotely like them gracing those pages. Not to mention the amount of Photoshop, lighting, and strategic posing that goes on.
I can’t speak for those 18 million women, but when the news of Ashley's cover came up as I was scrolling through Instagram I felt a strange mix of excitement and recognition. Graham, posing in the ocean, looked like me. I can’t claim to be a six-foot tall underwear model, but Graham’s legs look like my legs, her butt looks like my butt, her arms look like my arms. I could see myself in her, something that I think most women rarely look for in models because after years of not finding yourself you simply stop looking.
In the photo her body is acknowledged, visible, and celebrated — as it should be. No matter what your opinion on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is, we should take this as a win for Ashley Graham, for body positivity, and for progress in the media as a whole.
