The model agrees that body shaming is totally out of control in our society and hurts women of all shapes and sizes. Ashley has always encouraged body positivity and urged women to love themselves. However, even with all that self-love, she’s been hit hard recently with serious body-shaming that knocked her confidence down.
When Ashley was a teen, she shook the modeling industry by smashing down barriers. By the age of 21, Graham had become a successful plus-size model and appeared in Glamour’s September 2009 issue. However, when she moved to New York, she came up against criticism for her shape, so she had to be her biggest cheerleader.
The model posted a photo on Instagram that showed off her slimmer figure. Instead of getting praised, she faced a different kind of body-shaming from internet users who disapproved of her transformation. They claimed that she had abandoned her plus-size identity now that she had gained popularity.
They left negative comments claiming that she was no longer the same person she used to be. One user asked, “Where are your curves?!” and another said, “You did lose a lot of weight. I’m no longer a fan of yours. You betrayed a lot of people!”
They felt that she no longer represented the plus-size modeling community. One fan wrote, “You look stunning, but I’m afraid that being plus-sized is never going to be socially accepted when the woman who practically founded it in the first place continues to lose weight or Photoshop.” Her fans are concerned that it could slow down the fashion industry’s progress in embracing fuller-figured women.
Ashley says, “Never in my life did I get so much hate for being skinny. I’ve definitely heard: ’You’re not plus-sized enough’ but this was insane. So I wanted to talk about what it feels like on both spectrums. Body shaming and calling women out for something that is none of your business shouldn’t be right.”
She continues, “To some, I’m too curvy. To others, I’m too tall, too busty, too loud, and, now, too small — too much, but at the same time not enough. When I post a photo from a ‘good angle,’ I receive criticism for looking smaller and selling out. When I post photos showing my cellulite, stretch marks, and rolls, I’m accused of promoting obesity. The cycle of body shaming needs to end. I’m over it.”
In her essay, she wrote, “I’m more than my measurements. I’m not Ashley Graham just because I’m curvy. For the past 16 years, my body has been picked apart, manipulated, and controlled by others who don’t understand it. But now my career has given me a platform to use my voice to make a difference.”
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The amount of shaming going on with so many people these days is so heartbreaking. I don't understand the need or desire to shame others and tear them down. I can hope for things to get better and will continue to. No one deserves to be treated this way.
