I used to be insecure about my butt, but I no longer think of clothes as something to make me look skinnier.
Barbie Ferreira
I used to hate my legs, but I learned to embrace them. They may be bigger than the average person's, but they're beautiful. I love them, and I wear short shorts all of the time.
I'm more than just a curvy girl.
Don't focus on your body. Love it, but know it'll never be up to society's standards because it's all Photoshop and exclusivity. And that's okay!
I had a lot of difficulty growing up in a society where everything is very closed-minded, especially with beauty.
I feel really comfortable and cute in bikini bottoms that have thick sides.
People are so influenced by the media that they really believe a 38-24-45 plastic-surgery body is normal, and they can't understand why a body would possibly have cellulite or bumps.
There's so much more to life than how you look.
People claim to be progressive by celebrating curvy bodies - but the standards for those hourglass shapes are equally rigid. They mask that with body positivity - but what about unconventionally attractive bodies?
What the body-positive movement wants is to stop categorizing people, and to let people of all body types be able to do anything, whether they're slightly bigger than the average model or a lot bigger.
I have a ton of guy friends who talk to me about their bodies, too. But boys are often left out of the body positivity conversation.
Social media opened up basically every opportunity for me because, traditionally, I wouldn't be thought of as a model.
When I was younger and really interested in acting, I would look at all the women on TV, and even the ones who were supposed to be 'geeks' or 'less attractive,' they all looked similar because they were extremely attractive and their bodies were all a certain way.
The way I move, the way I think, the way I handle myself - it might be by accident, but it's who I am, and I've just learned to own that.
Tradition in fashion is held with such a high regard.
I started my modelling career by sending my pictures to American Apparel and eventually meeting my friend Petra Collins, who started shooting me for magazines around New York. I ended up signing a modelling contract with Wilhelmina Models a couple of years later.
The term 'plus size' is so inaccurate. I'm not plus size; I have never bought an article of clothing that was plus size.
I'm not overweight. I have and will always eat to nourish my body, and I work out.
I've always struggled a ton with my body image, and I wanted to help other people not feel so ashamed about themselves. It's a completely unnecessary part of everyday life.
I have been watching Youtube makeup tutorials since I was born. I did my own prom makeup and used to do peoples' makeup in high school for money.
Modeling for adidas is a dream I never knew I could achieve. I've had it in my mind to work with such a dope ,and it's so amazing that I get to be a part of a campaign with so many powerful voices.
Less is more. I would notice that when I did my makeup, I was putting on more makeup than they did on me at shoots. A little goes a long way, so I definitely learned how to wear less.
Seeing someone that you can relate to in the media is everything as a child, and a lot of people are not granted that luxury.
Looking at magazines and being someone who wanted to act, as a kid, I was very much influenced by things I saw.
I used to diet all the time as a kid. I started dieting in, like, kindergarten. I don't recommend it, but I also don't judge people who want to do things with their body.
I've just learned how to put things into perspective and how to not be afraid of change while making decisions for myself. Also, asking for what I want and demanding what I need and being more confident in who I am and my ability.
As a child, I was so deeply insecure.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the word 'curvy' or 'plus-size' because there are women who identify as that, and I'm not offended by it whatsoever because I don't feel like being bigger is anything wrong.
Curvy and plus-size models will just be models once it becomes more normalized and we get more representation and people are used to it and not shocked by it.
I hate workout classes... Every time I go into one, my anxiety is really high. I leave immediately - like, before the warm up!
I never thrived in high school.
'Fat' was a terrible, terrible word for me growing up. When I was able to reclaim it and call myself fat and identify with it, that was the best moment ever. That was the moment I really started to feel free.
I always thought 'plus-size' wasn't a term that was negative - it wasn't something that I felt was something that was making me any different or making me feel like I was lesser than - and I found a community through it.
I think that people put a lot of worth into looks. Unfortunately, there's a standard that so many people look up to that is unrealistic for everyone's body type.
I think representation is the most important thing in the world. People who are young look up to the things that they see in the media. They want to relate and to be able to say, 'Wow, I can be successful.'
Don't be afraid to show off who you are.
I felt the term 'plus size' was inaccurate and kept all these beautiful, stunning women with the widest spectrum of body types I've ever seen - mind you, curvy agencies start at a size 6 and go up to a size 18 - from being seen and resonated with.
I am unapologetically myself, no matter what anyone's opinion is.
We need to overcome the stereotype that genders aren't fluid.
Every day, I feel different. Sometimes I don't put on any makeup, and other times, I put on a ton.
Hair-wise, the move for me is to not wash it. I try to only wash it when I have to or for a shoot or something.
I was on the cover of French 'Grazia,' which was amazing. It was all over Paris!
My favourite movies are 'Jawbreaker' and 'Heathers.'
I love yoga.
Not everyone relates to being a blond girl with blue eyes and is proportioned so she could barely walk if she was a real person.
I just love to disconnect from everything sometimes.
At first, I was scared that if I claimed I modeled, people would be like, 'What?'
I have been on the Internet for a long time and have always gotten hate on the Internet, so there is a thick skin I have developed.
I don't want people to think I think I am the most diverse thing fashion has ever seen or whatever. But there are so many different walks of life that I don't represent, and there is no one person who does.
I'm a model, and I happen to model for curvy things, but at the end of the day, I'm still in front of a camera just like anyone else.
