Ashley Graham sounds off on her body, #MeToo and being called 'pretty for a big girl'
Ashley Graham is over being called "pretty for a big girl."
The model and fashion designer told "Good Morning America" that she's heard the backhanded compliment so many times she decided to turn it on its head and launch a podcast with a similar name and positive focus called "Pretty Big Deal."
"I'm a pretty big deal, and every single guest that comes on is a pretty big deal with me," Graham said, adding that she doesn't have the energy to deal with critics who say otherwise.
"I'm tired of people picking apart my body and telling me I'm not big enough, or telling me that I'm too big, I'm not healthy or I'm trying lose weight," she said. "You're never going to be good enough for anyone. You're never going to fit into these narrow lanes that society has tried to put me in or many other women in. I think it's slowly changing, and I think that people are getting more sensitive to it, but we still have a lot of change that we need to do."
Graham, 30, has long been an advocate of inclusivity, particularly with regard to curvy women and the body-positivity movement in general. With her podcast, which has new episodes every Tuesday and corresponding videos on YouTube every Thursday -- footage of her interview with Kim Kardashian West premieres today -- she hopes to talk about these types of issues with women including West, Amy Schumer, and Gabrielle Union. No topic, she said, is off-limits.
"I think it's important to just highlight bad-ass women in all different categories of business. And growing up, I wish I would've had role models to look up to that were different, that looked like me, and that had something empowering and impactful to say," she said. "I'm so excited that I've had so many powerful women come on because I think, now more than ever, when you've got a bunch of women coming together and talking about things that are not only important to them, but that are changing the world. That's more game-changing than anything."
That includes politics. Noting that season 2 would likely be more political than season 1, Graham said, "It's something that's on every American's mind right now."
She added that women's issues, such as the #MeToo movement, are of particular interest to her.
"A lot of voices that weren't heard that are now being heard," she said, noting that power dynamics during photos shoots have already shifted, giving models more of a say in what they do. "People are more mindful."
Still, despite the wave of change, Graham feels more compelled than ever to act as a role model for curvy girls everywhere.
"I believe there's no such thing as perfection, so why are we chasing it? I want to be a voice, and I want to pave the way," she said. "I still have to walk in and prove myself in a whole other way that makes people still say, 'Oh yeah, she is different. Maybe we should look at curvy girls now!' We are all the same. It doesn't matter our percentage of fat, thank you very much."
