Ashley Graham Just Wrote An Essay About Body Shaming
[Photo: Getty]
Body shaming; it’s absolute rubbish. But we’re all caught in the same cycle of judging one another’s bodies, and even Ashley Graham can’t escape it.
Which is why the model has spoken out in an essay about body shaming.
Titled ‘Shamed if I do, shamed if I don’t’, Graham’s article on Lenny discusses being shamed if she’s too fat and shamed if she’s too thin. In other words, that as attitudes to one another’s bodies stand, no one’s a winner.
She describes how when she posted a photo of herself in a white knit skirt, matching crop top and Balmain leather jacket, she thought she looked “damn good” and posted it to her Instagram without much thought.
But then the criticism started rolling in - not saying that she looked too fat, but too thin.
[Photo: Instagram/Ashley Graham]
She said: “According to the comments, some people were upset because I appeared to be slimmer.
“The reality is I haven’t lost a pound this year. In fact, I’m actually heavier than I was three years ago, but I accept my body as it is today.”
She then explains how however she looks, people are unhappy - damned if she does, and damned if she doesn’t.
“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.
[Photo: Instagram/Ashley Graham]
“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.”
She then talks about the root of the cause; being so critical about one another’s appearances in the first place.
“No matter how many empowerment conferences, TED talks, and blog posts are out there, women keep tearing one another down over physical appearance.”
[Photo: Instagram/Ashley Graham]
She concludes: “I refuse to let others dictate how I live my life and what my body should look like for their own comfort. And neither should you.
“I am more than my measurements… My body is MY body. I’ll call the shots.”
Read Graham’s full essay here.
What do you think about Graham’s essay? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.
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