Quotes from Ashley Graham

I don't like to use the words 'real women,' honestly. I like to use the word 'woman.' And I say that because there are so many women out there who are naturally thin or are naturally curvy, and I think when we start putting a label on the type of woman, it gets misconstrued and starts to offend people.

Do I sometimes wish I were thinner? God, in the old days, absolutely I did, but now I feel that to lose weight would be disloyal to myself.

For so long, I have been an outsider because of my size. And I think that fashion has always, in some way, catered to celebrities or to a thinner idealistic model.

I'm being my real raw self, and that's what I always preach anyway. What you see is what you get.

Words have power. The things that you say to yourself as a parent - the things that you say maybe even just one time to your children - they take it, and they take it into their real world and into their life and beyond.

I am more than my measurements. I'm not Ashley Graham just because I'm curvy.

I remember being told by my very first photographer that if I lost weight, and I was a skinny model, it would do wonders for my career. My mum got really defensive - 'I don't think we will be doing that, thank you so much, goodbye.'

I work out not to lose weight but to maintain my good health. And anyway, if I did want to lose weight, it would be no one's decision but my own.

We need to work together to redefine the global image of beauty and continue to push for a more inclusive world.

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.

Love yourself. Be proud of who you are.

I love my hourglass figure.

I've lived the torment of the names. I've lived the torment of boyfriends breaking up with me because they were afraid I was going to be too fat later in life.

Since I first started playing basketball, I have just loved it, and nothing has ever made me lose that love.

I wasn't put on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' as a plus-size model; I was put on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' as a model, as a rookie, as Ashley Graham.

As a professional selfie taker, I know my angles. And I know how to look 20 lbs. heavier and 20 lbs. lighter. If Instagram wants to tell me I've lost 60 lbs. in one week, then damn, I look good.

My fans are incredible. Don't you dare talk bad about me on my Instagram, because my fans will come out, and they will eat you alive.

My father was a master of the cutting insult.

My mom's parents were farmers, so every summer, my sisters and I would help out, hauling pipe and pulling maggots off the corn. We hated it, but it taught me the meaning of good hard work.

I am just like any other woman, and I think I am the 'fattest woman alive' - but it is really about how you handle your situation.

It doesn't matter what size your hips are when you measure them. It's about, 'Do you feel good and healthy in those hips?'

Honestly, at the end of the day, what I want women to know is that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. And that it should not define who you are.

I'm giving curvy women a seat at a table that we've never been invited to before - a table with high-end fashion people who have never considered us beautiful.

I've had agents tell me, 'You're not gonna be on the cover of anything; you're a catalog girl.' I've had clients tell me, 'You're too fat, and we can't book you any more because you don't fit into the jeans.'