Ashley Graham’s Stretch Marks Selfie is a Celebration of the Female Body
Coming in hot after her pregnancy reveal.
It’s been a big couple of days for supermodel Ashley Graham on Instagram. First up, the Sports Illustrated model and author announced that she is expecting her first child with husband of nine years, filmmaker Justin Ervin. Then, across the weekend she shared a naked snap of her changing body that had all women collectively cheering.
Graham has long been an advocate for body positivity and inclusivity within the fashion industry, and this selfie is the latest example of that. The snap is taken from a side profile showing off her arm, stomach, thigh, butt and boob along with her stretch marks with the caption, “Same, same but a little different.”
Understandably, the snap quickly gained praise from followers and fellow celebrities alike. Lily Aldridge, celebrity makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes and Amanda de Cadenet were among the stars who shared their love for the post in the comments, whilst another user commented, “I CANNOT WAIT for you to be a mother and teach another human being that ALL bodies are beautiful.”
Given that it’s the internet after all, the post attracted criticism from some however it’s well documented that the model doesn’t give her haters any second thoughts. Speaking to British Vogue in 2014, she said, “Of course I get called a ‘fatty’ on Instagram and I always get comments saying, ‘Why didn’t you airbrush out your cellulite before you posted that picture?’, but I don’t care. I’ve been doing this for 15 years so I just laugh at it and I’m happy with who I am.”
She also resents the term ‘real women’ telling E!, “I hate the word ‘real woman’ and I hate the word ‘plus size. If you’re telling women like me that we’re real women because of our size, then how do women like you feel? I don’t want any woman to feel like they aren’t a real woman. And the word ‘plus size,’ I mean, I know that a lot of women still love this word ’cause…there’s a culture out there of feeling belonged and feeling a part of something and I totally respect that. But for someone like me, I don’t feel the connection to the word ‘plus size,’ I just feel that it’s ostracizing a lot of women and making them feel that they are not as good as a girl who is a size 2 or a size 4.”
It’s been a week of celebration for stretch marks and cellulite with Kourtney Kardashian and Olivia Munn both also posting images this week celebrating their bodies. We say, keep ’em coming.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://fashionmagazine.com/flare/celebrity/ashley-grahams-stretch-marks-selfie/&title=Ashley Graham’s Stretch Marks Selfie is a Celebration of the Female Body&picture=https://fashionmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ashley-graham-body-positivity-hold-800x467.png&description=It's been a big couple of days for supermodel Ashley Graham on Instagram. First up, the Sports Illustrated model and author announced that she is expecting her first child with husband of nine years, filmmaker Justin Ervin. Then, across the weekend she shared a naked snap of her changing body that had all women collectively cheering.
Graham has long been an advocate for body positivity and inclusivity within the fashion industry, and this selfie is the latest example of that. The snap is taken from a side profile showing off her arm, stomach, thigh, butt and boob along with her stretch marks with the caption, "Same, same but a little different."
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1T7t9Lgd7y/
Understandably, the snap quickly gained praise from followers and fellow celebrities alike. Lily Aldridge, celebrity makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes and Amanda de Cadenet were among the stars who shared their love for the post in the comments, whilst another user commented, "I CANNOT WAIT for you to be a mother and teach another human being that ALL bodies are beautiful."
Given that it's the internet after all, the post attracted criticism from some however it's well documented that the model doesn't give her haters any second thoughts. Speaking to British Vogue in 2014, she said, "Of course I get called a 'fatty' on Instagram and I always get comments saying, 'Why didn't you airbrush out your cellulite before you posted that picture?', but I don't care. I've been doing this for 15 years so I just laugh at it and I'm happy with who I am."
She also resents the term 'real women' telling E!, "I hate the word 'real woman' and I hate the word 'plus size. If you're telling women like me that we're real women because of our size, then how do women like you feel? I don't want any woman to feel like they aren't a real woman. And the word 'plus size,' I mean, I know that a lot of women still love this word 'cause...there's a culture out there of feeling belonged and feeling a part of something and I totally respect that. But for someone like me, I don't feel the connection to the word 'plus size,' I just feel that it's ostracizing a lot of women and making them feel that they are not as good as a girl who is a size 2 or a size 4."
It's been a week of celebration for stretch marks and cellulite with Kourtney Kardashian and Olivia Munn both also posting images this week celebrating their bodies. We say, keep 'em coming.){kind=link}