Ashley Grahamdoesn’t want to be labeled a plus-size model.
Instead, just call her “a woman,” she said in a recent profile forWSJ.Magazine.
“I hate that I constantly have to discuss my body, because I don’t know any man that has to do that,” she told the magazine. “But what motivates me to continue to talk about my body is that I didn’t have someone talking about their body when I was young.”
Graham added that the lack of representation in her industry is what motivates her to “keep it real” on social media.
“This is why I don’t post like the ‘perfect’ Instagram photos,” she said. “I keep it real and raw constantly because I want [people] to know that there are women with cellulite, with back fat, with stretch marks…. There are a lot of curvy women, plus-size women, fat women, whatever you want to call them.”
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The supermodel opened up about starting her career at 17 and being told she needed to lose weight in order to succeed.
“My self-esteem plummeted, and I had my agents telling me if you don’t lose weight, then you’re not going to work,” she said. “The lowest part of realizing that I didn’t get a job because I was ‘too fat’ actually gave me the courage and the ambition to go and fill a void in an industry.”
Graham became a first-time mom last year to sonIsaac Menelik Giovanniand revealed that she is excited to continue growing her family with husbandJustin Ervin.
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Graham previously opened up about her experience with motherhood whilecelebrating Isaac’s 1st birthdaylast month.
“January, you were earth-shattering and ground-breaking for me,” she said of the month she gave birth to her son. “… I learned to love in a way that I never knew I could love. Never. People tell you, people try to explain it to you, but you don’t know love until you have a child of your own like that.”
In atribute post on Instagramthat same day, Graham also gave a shout-out to fellow moms around the world who are caring for their families amid the unprecedented year.
source: people.com
