Nine Inspiring Quotes From Plus-Size Model Ashley Graham

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A photo posted by A S H L E Y ✨ G R A H A M (@theashleygraham) on Dec 12, 2014 at 10:56am PST

Plus-size model Ashley Graham hopes her confidence is contagious. Graham's had a career-making year, and she recently told Net-a-Porter's The Edit how she got her start and how she wants to change the way the fashion industry views curvy women and how women view themselves. "I am always being asked to gain or lose weight, but I am at a point now where I don't care anymore. I love my body, I love my super-hourglass shape and I love showing it off," Graham said. Click to read more honest, inspiring quotes from Graham about modeling and body image.

· "I've always been tall with bigger thighs and bigger breasts. I was regularly told I wasn't an 'editorial' girl until I went to IMG. Since I moved there a year ago, it's been one editorial after the other: Vogue, Elle, Love..."

· "I don't think every store or designer has to make plus-size pieces, but I think if we get the majority on board to start thinking of a normal woman's body, that's where the change is going to be."

· "It doesn't matter if you're a size 2 or 22, you can be healthy as long as you're taking care of your body, working out, and telling yourself 'I love you' instead of taking in the negativity of beauty standards."

· "And I've never felt ugly, even when I was called a 'fat model' in middle school. My mom never said, 'I feel so ugly', she never looked at her face and said, 'I need a lift.' I never saw her looking at herself negatively and therefore I never looked at myself that way."

· "Young girls don't have much to look at, curvy women are not on covers of magazines, they're not talked about on social media as much as other celebrities. Jennifer Lawrence is the media's poster girl for curves – she's tiny."

· "It's not just about being healthy; it's also about loving who you are. If you don't love who you are, you are never going to feel 100 percent satisfied in life. It all starts with you. If you don't love you, nobody else is going to be able to."

· "I look at myself naked in the mirror and say, 'You know what, awkward butt shape? You're not gonna get higher or rounder but it's OK, because I've got Spanx for you.' Your words have so much power."

· "A year and a half ago, I started a group called ALDA – it means 'wave' in Icelandic – with four other plus-size models. We go to schools to talk about body image acceptance, the UN wants us to do a panel discussion... Things are happening, it's exciting. Now is the time: people want to know about curvy women."
· Beauty Beyond Size [Net a Porter]
· Calvin Klein's Size 10 Underwear Model Just Can't Win [Racked]
· What the Team at Plus-Size Brand Eloquii Wears to Work [Racked]