Emily Rosuck - 4th -Ashley Graham Is Officially a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model

The battle for realistic body expectations has won again - plus size model Ashley Graham is officially a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. She first made history when she ran the first ever plus sized swimsuit commercial for Sports Illustrated, but now she will be in the actual editorial. This is a huge feat in the "war on body image" where body positivity activists fight for more realistic representations of the average female body. For a long time, Sports Illustrated has gone under fire for showcasing models who set an "unhealthy beauty standard," but recently the tables have turned, starting with Sports Illustrated showcasing of Robyn Lawley, the first plus-size model to  ever pose for the mag.

For a long time body positivity has been an American project. The 1990's to early 2000's was a period of time where the beauty standard were tall, impossibly skinny models. Then came the J Lo / Beyonce / Nicki Minaj come back. These artists brought back the beauty and femininity of curves into the media. Sports Illustrated was widely known for not including "curvy women" in their swimsuit issues. This was a big target for the Body Positivity movement. The fact that Ashley Graham, one of the leading spokeswomen for body positivity, is a model in the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated, says to men and women all around the country that curvy is sexy and all bodies are beautiful.

PS. I am not discounting women with lean bodies, I don't consider them skinny or unhealthy, I think they are fit and that's the way their bodies are. The point is that curvy body were never represented in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues until now.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ashley-graham-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue-plus-size_us_56ae66abe4b00b033aaf8a06