Size model appears in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

Activist and model Ashley Graham is back in the pages of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue after appearing in another ad a year ago.

Although she isn’t the first plus-size model to receive a coveted spot in the magazine, Graham will be the first size 14 model featured as one of the magazine’s potential “Rookie of the Year” models, BuzzFeed reports.

The infamous U.S. magazine Sports Illustrated may have been guilty of conforming to unrealistic fashion industry norms in the past (i.e by featuring photographs of only sample sized, ideal looking 20-year-olds), but it appears they are at least trying to diversify.

“The advice that I give to women to help them feel sexier is to look in the mirror and give themselves affirmations”, she said on the Swimsuits for All site.

“I’ve never worn a bikini before”, Griffin told ET.

She’s understandably thrilled to be included in the Swimsuits for All campaign as a gray, mature model. Her connection to every inch of her body is commanding and inspiring.

‘Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 Revealed, ‘ will air on TNT Saturday night after NBA All-Star Weekend.

“How do you #SwimSexy?“.

This real mantra also applies to her hair, which she stopped coloring at 42, when it would no longer “take” the dye. The size-12 model looked dazzling in a lovely photo shoot at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

As the campaign for body positivity grows stronger, more publications and modeling agencies are veering towards using models other than standard wafer-thin, young women. I guess this is kind of like Graham receiving the Sports Illustrated newbie crown – a small step for her, a giant leap for full-figured beauty. If you’ve been too scared to wear a two-piece or avoid seeing yourself naked at all costs, Ashley is trying to change that by preaching self-confidence.