Spending hours in the gym to lose an inch of your waist, or skipping meals to shed a few pounds is not uncommon. Everyone wants to get the perfect hour-glass figure no matter what it takes! But can being beautiful be so narrowly defined? These twelve models are sure to prove you wrong. Setting an example, they are raising awareness about eating disorders, and urge women to be healthy and comfortable, rather than blindly chasing skinny.
1. Ashley Graham
The American model from Lincoln flaunts her body for plus size lingerie and clothing. She breaks all beauty stereotypes and urges women to wear ‘whatever they want’ with confidence.
2. Crystal Renn
Suffering from anorexia early in her life, Renn worked hard to gain 70 pounds (32 kgs) and chose to be a plus size model.
3. Denise Bidot
The New York based model says ‘there is no wrong way of being a woman.’ She advocates ‘women with curves and self-love’ and dazzles the ramp with her size 14 body.
4. Mellisa Aronson (Emme)
The 51-year-old plus size model is also the highest paid in the field. ‘If you want people to be healthy, you should have the clothes to do it’ – she says
5. Georgina Bruke
The 23-year-old Australian based in New York models for plus size clothes. She describes herself as a ‘fat and chubby kid’ who was bullied in primary school but chose to take control of how she looks.
6. Jenny Runk
Best known for flaunting H&M;’s summer beach collection in 2013, the American model opines strongly ‘It’s time we stop obsessing over size.’
7. Katya Zarkhova
The Belarusian model and actor is best known for her photoshoot for a plus size magazine with a thin model to raise awareness for girls who are not confident of their body size.
8. Lizzie Miller
The model from California says it’s sad that anything above size six is considered plus size.
9. Natalie Laughlin
This supermodel, also an inspirational speaker, features on magazine covers to billboards in Times Square, spreading awareness about healthy body image and eating disorders.
10. Robyn Lawley
Best known for featuring on the cover of Vogue Italia in June 2011, this plus size model happens to be a complete foodie. The model says she felt ‘chubby’ at first, and later learnt to accept her body with grace.
11. Tess Holiday
The first obese woman to be signed into the modelling industry considers herself a feminist. She urges women to be comfortable in their size and goes as far as to never have her pictures photoshopped to look in shape.
12. Whitney Thompson
The first plus size model to win America’s next top model. Thomson is also the spokesperson for many brands and an ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association .