The modeling industry is being revolutionized with the help of one phenomenal woman. Her name is Ashley Graham. However, the effects of her successful career go far beyond the modeling industry. As a plus size model, she is bringing about a message of body positivity that people across the world need to listen to.
Anyone familiar with modeling, whether it be on runways or simply women in magazines, knows that they are all skinny. Unrealistically skinny in comparison to the average woman. According to abcnews.com, (typical) models have to meet the criteria of being 5’9 – 6’, and weigh 110 to 130 pounds. Seeing these numbers puts the extreme expectations of models to reality. Many women do not have bodies built like models, yet still feel extremely self-conscious over something that is out of their control. Growing up as a young girl in America is becoming increasingly more difficult as pictures of what we are ‘supposed’ to look like are constantly being thrown at us. To make matters worse, the pictures typically feature unrealistic body expectations, or even images of bodies that have been altered in some way. Add in the fact that girls bodies go through extreme changes throughout the teenage years and their hormones are amped up – this is a self-confidence mess waiting to happen.
Ashley Graham has emerged into the spotlight in recent years. She has been modeling since age 13, but she became noticeably more well-known when she first appeared in Sports Illustrated in 2015. Her success after this resulted in her becoming the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model for 2016. This is the first time in the history of Sports Illustrated that a plus-size model has been featured on the cover. Monumental. The fact that a model with a realistic body was featured on magazines seen throughout the world is something that needs more publicity.
Graham’s 2015 TedTalk, which has gotten much attention for the positive message, begins with her looking in the mirror and telling herself, “You are bold, you are brilliant, and you are beautiful. There is no other woman like you. You are capable.” With the clever title, “Plus Size? More Like My Size”, she goes on to address parts of her body, discussing back fat under her bra, thick thighs, and cellulite issues she deals with. All very realistic things that have been shamed and thus created body-image issues for women across the world. She describes how the modeling industry labels plus-size as sizes 8-16, which are sizes that many everyday women wear. Not because they are ‘plus-size’, but just because that is how their bodies are built. She continues by detailing how plus-size models are trying to bring awareness to the fact that each body has a different shape that should be embraced, and that women also need to start focusing on internal beauty. Finding self-love and self-confidence is much more important than the physical aspects of your body. The message that she gives, not just in her TedTalk but in everything she does, is so important and so uplifting for every single woman who has ever dealt with body image issues.
Now there are many people who will feel insecure by the fact that Ashley Graham is so successful. Not only are there people who think that bigger women should not be models, there are also people who will say things like ‘it’s unrealistic to expect women to have boobs that big or hips that wide.’ But what people fail to realize is that women who are built bigger have felt self-conscious because of small models for their entire lives. It is not often that a woman who does not weigh 120 pounds is being glorified for her body, and it is a huge stepping stone for us all.
Ashley Graham is bringing to light the fact that all bodies are built differently, but this does not mean that anyone is any less beautiful. Just because you have hips that are wider or thighs that are bigger than the models you see on a daily basis does not make you a less beautiful woman. However, her message goes far beyond physical beauty. She simply wants women of every shape and size to learn how to be confident. To embrace the body that they have for what it is. To uplift the women around them and help bring out the beauty in others. Ashley Graham is starting a revolution, and I cannot wait to see the success she has in the future because she is deserving of every bit of it.
Her TedTalk can be found here: http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Plus-size-More-Like-My-Size-Ash
