Ashley Graham Laments Weight Loss Shots' Impact on Body Positivity

Ashley Graham is pushing back against the growing use of weight loss shots.

The 38-year-old model said her efforts in the body positivity movement have grown tougher lately because of widespread GLP-1 drug use on and off the runway. "It's really disheartening," she told Marie Claire about beauty industry standards shifting more toward thinness.

"There was a pendulum that swung that was so body acceptance, positivity, everybody be who they want to be. 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."

Graham became a key figure in body positivity over a decade ago as one of the first visibly plus-size models on high-fashion runways. She landed covers on nearly every major magazine.

She noted more progress for plus-size women than some credit the industry for, but pointed out risks with weight loss shots. "It goes with the times — and GLP-1s are a time," she said. "I know that there are and there's gonna still be women who are considered plus size forever."

The mother of three added, "This drug isn't going to wipe out a whole statistic of women."

Graham said her body positivity work matters more now as trends favor slimmer bodies again. "Why would I stop now and why would I get angry about the work I've done?" she asked. "I put my head down and I focus on the women we've built the community with."

"There's so many [plus size influencers and creators]," she continued. "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?'"

Graham stressed the need to keep advocating for women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds to find clothes that fit and build confidence. She spoke of her latest plus-size collaboration with JCPenney.

"I also don’t think that my community is just curvy women. I think it’s all kinds of women because, really, confidence at the end of the day, it doesn’t discriminate."