Ashley Graham: The sum total of what I learned about African American...

It doesn't matter if you're a size 2 or 22, you can be healthy as long as you're taking care of your body, working out, and telling yourself 'I love you' instead of taking in the negativity of beauty standards.

Ashley Graham

work-out love-you long

There is not one standard definition of beauty or one perfect size.

Ashley Graham

size definitions perfect

I felt free, once I realized i was never going to fit the narrow mold that society wanted me to fit in.

Ashley Graham

mold fit wanted

I know my curves are sexy and I want everyone else to know that theirs are too. There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.

Ashley Graham

sexy positive beauty

Love yourself. Be proud of who you are.

Ashley Graham

who-you-are proud love-you

It's really important that we stop body shaming people online and on social media. The rude comments under pictures, comparing women in "who looks better" posts - all that does is force us to judge each other. It only sets us back and women, now more than ever, need to empower each other.

Ashley Graham

media judging people

There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.

Ashley Graham

no-reason reason

I don't like to use the words "real women," honestly. I like to use the word woman. And I say that because there are so many women out there who are naturally thin, or are naturally curvy, and I think when we start putting a label on the type of woman it gets misconstrued and starts to offend people. At the end of the day we just all want to be known as women or models or actresses or whatever.

Ashley Graham

real people thinking

I am always being asked to gain or lose weight, but I am at a point now where I don't care anymore. I love my body, I love my super-hourglass shape and I love showing it off.

Ashley Graham

care body weight

I don't want women to hold themselves back. I think there are too many women who are self-conscious about the way they look - the way they see themselves in the mirror.

Ashley Graham

mirrors self thinking

Embracing uniqueness and showcasing the beauty of our differences is what I am all about so the fact that my words and image can impact positive change is a perk of this job I never expected I would have.

Ashley Graham

impact differences jobs

Don't let your image, don't let your size, hold you back. If I had let my hips or my jiggly thighs hold me back or the fact that I've got these big heavy breasts, then I would not be where I am today.

Ashley Graham

size today facts

I always say wear what makes you feel most confident, and confidence doesn't always come over night.

Ashley Graham

feels night

We are lucky to live in a world made up of so many different kinds of people and I am confident in the direction we are going.

Ashley Graham

lucky different people

I got most of my confidence by having a mother who never said "I don't like this or this." It was just, "You've got to love what you have because it is the only body that has been given." I know that is where a lot of my confidence came from.

Ashley Graham

body mother said

I feel like we have to have [plus size models] as soon as possible. We're the norm. We're the majority.

Ashley Graham

size plus majority

I have been so blessed not only to talk about things that I want to talk about in my industry, but also to have a platform - and people want to hear about it. People want the change; people want the difference; people want to know what's going on. People want to see themselves in the industry that for so long has ostracized girls of my size.

Ashley Graham

differences girl blessed

The SI Swim cover was life changing, not just for myself but for women everywhere who've been told they can't do something because of their size. Body positivity is no longer a side conversation, it's mainstream.

Ashley Graham

positivity life-changing swim

The sense of pride I take away from doing something I know will be inspire women to feel confident about their bodies.

Ashley Graham

body pride inspire

I think knowing you're not alone is important. This generation is already better at standing up for themselves, saying, "No! You're not going to treat me like that. My standards are higher." But we can provide more education through stories. Just because someone who is older or with more authority says you have to do something, there's no reason you need to. One good thing is that there are new rules about how old you can be on set - more regulations. I think those are good.

Ashley Graham

important reason thinking

The sum total of what I learned about African American culture in school was Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Underground Railroad. This was more than my mom knew; she didn't even see a black person in real life until she was 18 years old.