Ashley Graham criticises sexualisation of plus size models
‘If I was cast in a role in a movie, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would be the sexy girl’
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Ashley Graham is tired of being sexualised by the fashion industry because she is considered a ‘plus size’ model.
The model and body-positive activist, who objects to the way the term plus-size is used, criticised the industry for automatically sexualising curvier models by only casting them for lingerie shoots or as a ‘sexy’ character in film and television.
Speaking to Details magazine, Graham claimed models with curvy figures are almost always sexualised more than thinner models.
“Curvy bodies have always been the sexier bodies in fashion. Any model who is strictly a lingerie model, she has fuller breasts and fuller hips. Girls who are much thinner, who might be a size zero with no T&A, are not the Victoria's Secret model. And it just goes to show that a curvier body is considered sexier.
“So if you get an even curvier body, like mine, we're automatically sexualised. If I was cast in a role in a movie, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would be the sexy girl, I would have a sex scene, I would probably have to show a little nipple. That would just be the case, because of the way my body is.”
In May, Graham gave a TED talk about her experiences of the fashion industry over a 15-year-period. Graham criticised the decision to label anyone over a US size eight ‘plus’ and called for the industry to start looking past the plus size model paradigms.
Graham joins a number of models leading the curvy revolution and was the first curvy woman to feature in Sports Illustrated magazine. She also led a catwalk show of curvy models for New York Fashion Week in September.
Graham supports the Plus is Equal campaign, which calls for the pluz-size women who make-up 67 per cent of the US to be equally represented in the media and fashion industry.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments