Ashley Graham criticises body shamer who compared her to a ‘real model’

‘Nothing defines what a real model is’

Sabrina Barr
Thursday 19 April 2018 17:15 BST
Comments
Ashley Graham hits back at people who shame models on Instagram

Ashley Graham has lambasted a body shaming Instagram account for describing slimmer models as “real” - and curvier models as “fat”.

The 30-year-old model is a dedicated advocate of body positivity, recently appearing in an empowering swimwear campaign alongside her mother.

In the posts highlighted on Graham’s Instagram story, an online troll created collages featuring photos of slimmer models next to pictures of curvier models.

Ashley Graham

In the captions, they wrote “Real model vs fat model”, adding hashtags such as “#againstoverweight” and “#againstplussize”.

Graham decided to address this particular incident of trolling directly, as she felt it was important to emphasise to her impressionable followers the importance of valuing your self-worth.

“I know I’m being a little petty by posting these stupid photos of somebody who wrote real model and fat model but I will let you know nothing defines what a real model or a fat model or fake model is,” she said to the camera.

She continued, explaining that aspiring models shouldn’t feel the need to fit into a single mould.

“Your weight, your skin, your hair, your religious background, none of that determines whether you’re a real model or not, so all those girls out there who have dreams and hopes, keep fighting for them,” she stated.

One person who viewed Graham’s story on Instagram described the positive effect of the model’s encouraging words.

“Aww I just watched Ashley Graham’s instastory and it really helped me with feeling better with my body after being called fat today,” they wrote on Twitter.

“I’m thankful for her presence and impact on the industry.”

Graham was recently praised on social media for sharing photos of her cellulite online.

“Thank you for normalising cellulite,” someone commented. “It’s so unfair that women have to try to live up to impossible airbrushed standards thanks to mass media.

“I appreciate your body positivity."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in