American model Ashley Graham is hitting out against the rising popularity of weight loss drugs and their impact on the body positivity movement she has championed for years.
“It’s really disheartening. There was a pendulum that swung that was so body acceptance, positivity [and] everybody be who they want to be,” Ashley said in a recent interview.
“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," she continued.
She observed that, similar to most fads, the spike in demand for drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy might eventually subside, but she insisted that female bodies must not be viewed as fleeting fashion trends.
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“It goes with the times, and GLP-1s are a time. I know that there are and there’s going to still be women who are considered plus-size forever. This drug isn’t going to wipe out a whole statistic of women,” Ashley explained.
Even with the massive hype surrounding weight loss drugs, the 38-year-old mom of three remains convinced that the body positivity movement is here to stay.
“There’s so many [plus size influencers and creators],” she explained. “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,” she added. “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?’”