Graham called the popularity of the medications and the trend towards leaner bodies in fashion “really disheartening” and a direct “smack in the face” to the movement she spent more than a decade building.
In a new interview withMarie Claire, Graham, who became one of the first visibly plus-size models to dominate high-fashion runways and land major magazine covers, complained that the fashion industry’s sudden shift back toward ultra-slim body standards has made her fat-acceptance advocacy more difficult.
Now, in an era of GLP-1s and reports that runway bodies are shrinking once again, that progress feels precarious. “It’s really disheartening,” she says. “There was a pendulum that swung that was so body acceptance, positivity, everybody be who they want to be. And now it’s going back this whole opposite way that feels like a smack in the face to the women who have felt like they’ve had a voice.”
Still, Graham resists the urge to consider it a total backslide. In her nearly three decades in the industry, she says she’s “seen more movement for plus-size women than some people give the whole industry credit for.” And fashion, she adds, has always been trend obsessed: “It goes with the times—and GLP-1s are a time…I know that there are and there’s gonna still be women who are considered plus size forever,” she continues. “This drug isn’t going to wipe out a whole statistic of women.”
That resolve is what Graham needs to keep doing the work. Keep showing up and taking up space as herself. “Why would I stop now and why would I get angry about the work I’ve done?…I put my head down and I focus on the women we’ve built the community with.” And that community she helped build is now inspiring her right back, having evolved far past what she could’ve hoped in 2016.
Graham said that she isn’t giving up on the movement, as plus-size influencers and creators are still doing well on social media.
“There’s so many [plus size influencers and creators]…they’re all over the place with their sizes and their proportions and how they look and how they’re relatable. And to me, that’s the coolest part about all of this.”
The model continued, “Seeing that these girls, who were raised on social media at such a young age, are now coming in and they have a platform to say to the younger generation, ‘Be yourself, be who you want to be. If you have cellulite, who cares?'”
Graham’s comments come as celebrities across Hollywood have openly discussed using GLP-1 shots for dramatic weight loss, prompting critics to point out the apparent hypocrisy after years of heavy promotion of “body positivity” and “health at every size” narratives.
Celebs known for their chub who have slimmed down thanks to GLP-1s include Oprah Winfrey, Amy Schumer, and Meghan Trainor.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
