It’s finally happening. You guys, it’s finally happening! The body-positive revolution is happening, and it will be televised… and tweeted, Periscoped, and Instagrammed. I’m usually not this chipper about the state of body acceptance and weight stigma in the world, but too many first steps have been made this year for this whole body-diversity trend we’re seeing to be a fad.
None of the things I’m gonna celebrate here adds up to much individually. But together? Together they’re a sign that, as model Ashley Graham said in her TEDx talk called Plus Size? More Like My Size, “This is the generation of body diversity. The current is changing.” Take a look at the evidence:
1. Ashley Graham and Ronda Rousey on the COVER of the SI Swimsuit Issue
It was a big deal when curvy model Ashley Graham made it into the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 2015 in a mere advertisement. One year later? Homegirl is on the damn cover—and she’s owning it. There are three different covers this year, the other two featuring kick-ass UFC bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and straight-size Brigitte-Bardot-esque model Hailey Clauson.
The ads don’t disappoint this year, either: Online swimwear shop Swimsuits For All is running three full pages featuring not one, not two, but three diverse visions of beauty all wearing the same gold swimsuit: the gray-haired 56-year-old Nicola Griffin, the aforementioned Ashley Graham, and British model/activist Philomena…