Hunter McGrady may be the “curviest model ever.” But she wants her body-shamers to know that that doesn’t mean she’s unhealthy.
After appearing in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for the third year in a row, McGrady is reflecting on what it means to be the curviest woman to appear in the magazine — and challenging the misconceptions that come with it.
“I hold the title of being the curviest model in the issue so proudly,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle while on the BUILD series stage. “People always tell me there’s no way you’re healthy, there’s no way you’re healthy. And I’m like, I work out literally every single day.”
The model also preaches eating healthy, but most importantly learning to love your own body, including the curves that are unique to you.
“Not all of us have a perfect hourglass, not all of us have the same stretch marks, some of us have rolls in different places,” McGrady says. “Don’t just go off of what you’ve seen, go in and be you and say, ‘Hey listen, this is why you need me.’”
McGrady says that despite those who refuse to embrace the way that the industry is evolving to become more inclusive, she and other models leading the change won’t be silenced.
“I’m sure a lot of people would love for us to be silenced, and there’s a lot of negativity out there,” she says. “And I think that it’s our job now to really push it forward and to continue this conversation and to move it.”
If anything, McGrady is teaching that your size doesn’t reflect your level of health. Having some fat on your body doesn’t mean that you live on junk food all the time. I think that there are some people who are skinny that can be quite unhealthy, which may not be obvious because they can’t gain wait. I think eating choices and exercise are what determine whether someone is unhealthy or not. Regardless, the negative stigmas that all plus-size people are inherently unhealthy needs to change.
