Why Ashley Graham Doesn’t Consider Being Called a ‘Real woman’ a Compliment

Ashley Graham wants to make it very clear: Calling someone a “real woman” is not a compliment. Tired of reading Instagram comments declaring her as a “real woman,” the 30-year-old model took to her Instagram stories on Monday to shut down the stigma associated with calling certain women “real.”

In a caption over a picture of her wearing a bikini, Graham clarified that all women, no matter what they look like, are real women. Though well-intentioned, Graham explained that the comment excludes women who don’t look like her or who don’t have a body type like her, which is why she doesn’t consider it a compliment when people call her a “real woman.”

“We are all real women,” Graham wrote. “I can’t stand it when I read comments that say, ‘Finally, a real woman.’ No matter your size/shape/amount of cellulite, we are in this together.”

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Once again, Graham makes a valid point. Calling someone a “real woman” is exclusionary and suggests that there is any thing as a “wrong woman,” which promotes unhealthy competitiveness. Graham is right: We are all in this together, so there’s no reason to tear each other down to raise someone else up.