Model Ashley Graham has made no qualms when it comes to opening up to the world about her past physical insecurities. And in her most recent interview with V magazine, she's once again baring it all.
Speaking to "Black-ish" star Tracee Ellis Ross, the 29-year-old got candid about one trait many women have but few are comfortable embracing — cellulite.
"I remember my first signs of cellulite, in middle school," the author of "A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like" recounts. "I remember telling my mom, 'Isn’t it disgusting? It’s so ugly.' She pulled her pants down and said, 'Look, I have it, too.' And I was like, 'Gasp!' She looked at me, then at it, and just rolled her eyes."
"She didn’t tell me that it’s beautiful or ugly. She just made it a non-issue," she continues. "It doesn’t define my worth. If women like you and me continue to preach that, then I feel like younger girls are going to grasp it and they’re going to be like, 'Who cares!'"
And it seems as though the curvy girl has stuck to this mantra way before her feature with V.
Back in late January, she shared a photo on Instagram with her stretch marks and cellulite on full display, writing, "I workout. I do my best to eat well. I love the skin I'm in. And I'm not ashamed of a few lumps, bumps or cellulite. and you shouldn't be either."
And while Graham seems to have moved well past the negative feelings she had about her body, and has even become a body positive advocate for other women, she can still recall the best words of wisdom she ever got from her mom.
"I think I hit bottom around 18," she confesses to V. "I was disgusted with myself and told my mom I was coming home. And she told me, 'No, you’re not, because you told me that this was what you wanted and I know you’re supposed to do this.
"It doesn’t matter what you think about your body, because your body is supposed to change somebody’s life.' To this day that sticks with me because I’m here today and I feel that it’s OK to have cellulite."
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