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Hunter McGradywill never forget the moment she first quit modeling.
McGrady: Getty Images. Underwood & Okello: Courtesy subjects. Design by Channing Smith.
They said, ‘Wow, we didn’t realize how big you were.'"
“I was led to believe that being too big was the worst thing ever.
All of that changed when, a few years later, she’d come acrossVogue Italia’slegendary curve issue.
Hunter McGrady on the runway in 2022.
The industry just wasn’t ready for her excellence quite yet.
Hunter McGrady on the runway in 2022.
Two weeks later she flew to Miami for her first job: the catwalk of Miami Swim Week.
Jordan Underwood
All of it led up to McGrady’s careerdefiningfirst spread withinSports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issuein 2017.
WithAshley Grahamon the cover, McGrady was in great company.
When showing up to set, there was no concern about whether the swimsuits pulled would fit her.
Lydia Okello
Rather, McGrady was to be nude, illuminated in body paint.
And thankfully, rather than feeling exposed or oversexualized, McGrady felt embraced.
She wasn’t nude because that was simply the only way to shoot her curves.
Kris Yeo
She was nude because she wanted to be and because it meant so much to her younger self.
I think it would have saved me.”
But the high was short-lived.
“I had just come off the shoot and I looked so great, I felt great.
I did press for three months for that and thought, ‘Shoot, this is insane.’
Once again, McGrady was just “too big.”
“And guess what?
It was a really bizarre juxtaposition.”
She chose the latter.
And these models, while spectacular in their own right, hardly represent the average plussize woman.
She refuses to back down, even when that might mean major financial loss.
“Showcase women of all sizes, all heights, all ranges,” Hunter says.
“Showcase women with larger midsections.
Showcase women that have no boobs, that are all hips.
Showcase different bodies and design for that.
Now, that’s impressive.”
It was a really bizarre juxtaposition.”
The “perfect plus” is a prime example of how far the industry still has to go.
The gravitation toward the “perfect plus” stems from many sources.
For starters, sample sizes.
Just as with straightsize gals, designers create sample sizes for their models to walk in.
As more weight is added to the body, more variation in sizes becomes necessary.
It’s the easy route out, McGrady explains.
All of it can begin to weigh on a model’s mind quickly.
That’s especially true whensocial media trolls attackwith vicious hatred.
It feels like an impossible battle, one with little hope for escape.
“How I am as I am is not sufficient for you.
And you try not to take it personally, but it’s demoralizing, it’s degrading.”
They reinforce capitalism’s coopting of body positivity, watering down the lifealtering movement into a trendy catchphrase.
And when it comes time to hold brands accountable for their shortcomings, they fall short in doing so.
Jordan Underwood
Purposefully spotlighting the highlights will never move the needle in the way we so desperately crave.
The experience is twofold for Underwood.
On one end, it’s difficult to land major gigs as a size 24 model.
At large, agency websites remain divided into “mens” and “womens” sections.
The plussize sector specifically remains hyperfeminine.
“A lot of times, I just have to pretend that I’m a girl for the day.
But it’s different.
They draw the line at the token curve girl.
For models like Okello, it feels like a neverending cycle.
And the lengths the modeling industry will go to promote that ideal are beyond dangerous.
It is often used to enhance certain body features, emphasizing the hourglass figure or Kardashianlike butt and thighs.
Despite trepidation, trusting that her agent knew best, Hanna eventually obliged and began padding.
Because at the end of the day, everything is about money.
More bookings mean more money in the agents’ pockets.
And that’s where the padding comes in.
Too small for this brand?
No worries, just pad up!
Can’t fit the sample size?
No problem, simply slip into this.
“It’s a really flawed concept,” Hanna says.
“With padding, you’re free to only pad so much.
you’ve got the option to’t pad your arms.
you might’t pad your collarbones.
This is the only way we should market people.'
When in reality, that’s not the case.
And I find so many girls have had more success when they’re able to be themselves.
“She adds, “It’s not rocket science.
It’s models.”
“So how I am as I am is not sufficient for you,” she says.
“And you try not to take it personally, but it’s demoralizing, it’s degrading.
“Never mind their personality or face or what they bring to the table.
In those moments, these models are reduced down to simply their size.
Kris Yeo
But that authenticity only gets you so far when the industry is constantly working against you.
“Honestly, I have PTSD now from a tape measure,” Yeo says.
“I’ve had agents telling me that they want me to get liposuction on my hips.
If you were a 14/16, that was pushing it.
And then if you were a size 12/14, you were too small.
But soon she had lost too much weight.
“I felt like I was lying.
Why can’t I just have my normal body?
It only adds on like two inches.
How is that going to read differently in photos?”
“If you were a 14/16, that was pushing it.
And then if you were a size 12/14, you were too small.”
Weight fluctuates, even for models.
But leeway or room for deviation was hardly ever part of the conversation.
She had simply gotten too fat for them.
“I felt like I was being punished by my agency for gaining weight.”
The modeling space as a whole often only feels welcoming when you fit neatly into one category.
But if you exist somewhere between multiple intersections, far too often the doors remain closed.
Add on another “difficulty” like gender, ethnicity,disability and you’re disqualified from the race.
Well, screw that.
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