Ashley Graham on the GLP-1 Era and Shrinking Bodies: "It's Really Disheartening"

As a longtime advocate for body acceptance, Ashley Graham finds it difficult to watch so many bodies drastically shrink in the GLP-1 era.

"It's really disheartening," the supermodel tells Marie Claire in our 2026 Motherhood Issue cover story.

"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."

But the entrepreneur and mom of three still believes there's reason to hope, including the fact that her industry has "seen more movement for plus-size women than some people give the whole industry credit for."

For her, the "trend" of shrinking bodies is just that: a trend, and one that won't last forever—nor change things for women who live in larger bodies.

"It goes with the times—and GLP-1s are a time," she says. "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."

Crucially, Graham has zero regrets about the work she's done so far advocating for body diversity.

"Why would I stop now and why would I get angry about the work I've done?" she asks. "I put my head down and I focus on the women we've built the community with."

Another good reason to hope? All the many younger women who are doing great work in the space.

"There's so many [plus size influencers and creators]…they're all over the place with their sizes and their proportions and how they look and how they're relatable," Graham shares.

"And to me, that's the coolest part about all of this. 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?'"