Ashley Graham criticises sexualisation of plus size models

Ashley Graham is tired of being sexualised by the fashion industry because she is considered a ‘plus size’ model.

The model and body-positive activist, who objects to the way the term plus-size is used, criticised the industry for automatically sexualising curvier models by only casting them for lingerie shoots or as a ‘sexy’ character in film and television.

Speaking to Details magazine, Graham claimed models with curvy figures are almost always sexualised more than thinner models.

“Curvy bodies have always been the sexier bodies in fashion. Any model who is strictly a lingerie model, she has fuller breasts and fuller hips. Girls who are much thinner, who might be a size zero with no T&A, are not the Victoria's Secret model. And it just goes to show that a curvier body is considered sexier.

“So if you get an even curvier body, like mine, we're automatically sexualised. If I was cast in a role in a movie, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would be the sexy girl, I would have a sex scene, I would probably have to show a little nipple. That would just be the case, because of the way my body is.”

In May, Graham gave a TED talk about her experiences of the fashion industry over a 15-year-period. Graham criticised the decision to label anyone over a US size eight ‘plus’ and called for the industry to start looking past the plus size model paradigms.

Graham joins a number of models leading the curvy revolution and was the first curvy woman to feature in Sports Illustrated magazine. She also led a catwalk show of curvy models for New York Fashion Week in September.

Graham supports the Plus is Equal campaign, which calls for the pluz-size women who make-up 67 per cent of the US to be equally represented in the media and fashion industry.