In this week's Lenny Letter (yup, Lena Dunham's newsletter) supermodel Ashley Graham is getting real about body-shaming once again and she is finally admitting she is frustrated and simply over all the criticism.
In the letter "Shamed If I Do, Shamed If I Don't" released on Tuesday, the model and body activist explains how she is constantly criticized for being too fat — and then for being too thin. She recalls a moment from last week when shared a gorgeous photo of herself on set of "America’s Next Top Model" in Balmain jacket. She then received backlash from some of her Instagram followers for appearing to thin.
"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. When I post a photo from a 'good angle,' I receive criticism for looking smaller and selling out,” the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover star wrote. "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."
Graham, a size 14, notes in the letter that even though she has been accused of slimming down to conform to Hollywood's expectations, she "hasn't lost a pound" all year, even saying she's "actually heavier" than three years ago.
"I accept my body as it is today. I work out not to lose weight but to maintain my good health. And anyway, if I did want to lose weight, it would be no one's decision but my own," the #BeautyBeyondSize advocate penned.
After 16 years of having her body "picked apart, manipulated, and controlled by others who don’t understand it," the Swimsuitsforall designer says she is using her career as a platform to share her voice.
"We can't create change until we recognize and check our own actions," Ashley wrote. "If you see another woman taking a selfie or a photo in her bathing suit, encourage her because she actually feels beautiful, don't give her the side eye because you think she's feeling herself too hard. Why waste time and energy spewing negativity?"
"I am more than my measurements ... let's worry about our own bodies. My body is MY body. I'll call the shots."
So society, from us and Ashley Graham to you: let's just stop with all this body-shaming. Because it's getting really old.
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