Ashley Graham is speaking bluntly about the rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs and what it means for the body positivity movement.
The supermodel, who has long been associated with body acceptance, told ‘Marie Claire’ that the current weight loss injection trend feels like a major reversal after years of progress.
“It’s really disheartening,” Graham said.
She said the culture had moved toward body acceptance and letting people exist in different body types. Now, she feels the pendulum has swung back in the opposite direction.
“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 said.
Graham Says GLP-1s Are Just One Moment
Graham specifically referenced GLP-1 medications, a category that includes drugs such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.
She said the trend may be powerful right now, but she does not believe it will erase plus-size women or end the need for body acceptance.
“It goes with the times, and GLP-1s are a time,” Graham said.
She added, “I know that there are and there’s gonna still be women who are considered plus-size forever. This drug isn’t going to wipe out a whole statistic of women.”
For Graham, the issue is not only the medication itself. It is the way the culture has quickly shifted back toward praising smaller bodies and treating weight loss as the default goal.
She Says Body Positivity Is Still Alive
Despite the pressure, Graham does not believe the body positivity movement is finished. She pointed to younger plus-size influencers and creators who are building platforms and speaking directly to the next generation.
“There’s so many [plus-size influencers and creators],” Graham said. “They’re all over the place with their sizes and their proportions and how they look and how they’re relatable.”
She said that visibility still matters, especially for young people growing up online. “To me, that’s the coolest part about all of this,” she added. Graham said these creators are telling younger followers to be themselves and not obsess over things like cellulite.
Graham Is Still Learning Her Own Body
Graham also spoke honestly about her own body after motherhood.
She shares three children with husband Justin Ervin: 6-year-old Isaac and 4-year-old twins Malachi and Roman. She said her postpartum body has been difficult to understand and accept.
“I’m living in a different body and it’s been hard to get to know her,” Graham said.
She admitted that self-love is not always simple. “I can’t say that I can look in the mirror and be like, ‘I love you,’” she said. “It’s not that for me. It’s that, ‘Wow, I made some children.’”
Graham said she has had to stop expecting herself to look like she did before pregnancy. “She’s gone,” she said of her younger body. “Let’s focus on the new girl.”
For Graham, that is the real fight: not pretending body confidence is easy, but refusing to let a new weight loss trend erase the women who fought to be seen.
