If you haven’t seen Joe Jonas’s band DNCE’s new music video for Toothbrush, you’re missing out. The video features a steamy makeout session between Joe Jonas and model/plus-size media maven Ashley Graham. The video is all about a new couple starting out and taking the next step forward in their relationship by leaving a thing or two at each other’s houses, like maybe a toothbrush. But why is Ashley’s debut so important you may ask? Graham is a size 16 and has modeled for Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and Elle UK among other magazines. In 2016, her debut on the Sports Illustrated cover was the first feature of a plus-size model in that space to date. She has spoken at high schools about body positivity and body acceptance, volunteered in South Africa on humanitarian missions, and is a proud proponent of the Health at Every Size movement.
Ashley Graham’s debut in the Toothbrush video is just another step in her journey to promoting body positivity and being a role model for young women struggling to find romantic leads that look like them. In the music video Graham wears pieces from her Addition Elle lingerie collection and shows that you can truly be loved and idolized at any size. You don’t have to look a certain way to be a sex symbol and a love interest. You can be a size 2 or a size 20 and still be loved for who you are. This is so important as so many women struggle with eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and negative self- thought about their appearances. The video shows that women can be in loving relationships no matter how they look. Too often, plus-sized women or those who don’t fit into certain ideals of beauty in our society are cast as the side-kick, best friend, or the butt of the joke. Who could forget the laughter that accompanies characters like Fat Monica, Fat Amy, or the repeated fat jokes made on shows as beloved as How I Met your Mother?
Plus-size women have had to deal with these negative portrayals of women like themselves in the media for decades. Now women are taking a stand and calling out for more portrayals of themselves in music videos, TV, and film that feature themselves as the powerful, beloved, and strong women they know they are. The writers of Pitch Perfect seemingly acknowledging the initial backlash about the portrayal of Fat Amy made sure she was front and center during Pitch Perfect 2 with her own romantic storyline. However actress Rebel Wilson also starred in Bachelorette where during the movie her friends can’t believe she is the first one to get married simply because of her size. Just as steps are taken forward the media works to take 2 steps back. I find it unfortunate that far too often there is erasure in the media of plus-size women because they are shown as just that. They are seen as plus-size, fat, or overweight before they are seen as sensual, strong, and successful women. We can be the generation that changes this by championing women like Rebel Wilson, Ashley Graham, and Melissa McCarthy not as the butt of the joke but as the stars that they truly are. Take a stand and speak up!
Your words have so much power. Every day, if you tell yourself “I love you,” if you give yourself one word of validation, it will change your mind.
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Ashley Graham