Ashley Graham feels disheartened by weight-loss drugs, but why?
Sports Illustrated star Ashley Graham has reflected on the rise of weight-loss drugs.
Ashley Graham feels disheartened by the rise of weight-loss drugs.
The 38-year-old model appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2016, and she became a spokesperson for the body positivity movement - but Ashley fears that a lot of that hard work is now being undone by weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic.
Speaking to Marie Claire magazine about the issue, Ashley explained: "It's really disheartening.
"There was a pendulum that swung that was so body acceptance, positivity, everybody be who they want to be. And now it's going back this whole opposite way that feels like a smack in the face to the women who have felt like they've had a voice."
Ashley has no intention of changing her approach, despite broader beauty trends.
She said: "Why would I stop now and why would I get angry about the work I've done? … I put my head down and I focus on the women we've built the community with.
"There's so many [plus size influencers and creators] … they're all over the place with their sizes and their proportions and how they look and how they're relatable. And to me, that's the coolest part about all of this.
"Seeing that these girls, who were raised on social media at such a young age are now coming in and they have a platform to say to the younger generation, ‘Be yourself, be who you want to be. If you have cellulite, who cares?’"
Despite this, Ashley still wants to connect with "all kinds of women". The model insists that her advocacy work isn't limited to one category, with Ashley noting that confidence issues don't "discriminate".
The brunette beauty - who has been married to Justin Ervin since 2010 - said: "It’s incredibly important to continue to advocate for women of all shapes, all sizes, and all backgrounds to have clothes that fit … to have people who don’t have confidence, have confidence in themselves.
"I also don’t think that my community is just curvy women. I think it’s all kinds of women because, really, confidence at the end of the day, it doesn’t discriminate."
