Kate Upton Reminds Us to Stop Editing Our Bodies in a Photoshoot with ‘Health’ Magazine
Kate Upton posed for Health Magazine in an un-retouched photoshoot to make a statement about the beauty industry. She spoke out about starting her Strong4Me fitness program and why it is important to recognize the extreme amounts of editing that go into nearly everything we see on social media these days. Once known for being a “curvy” model—because she wasn’t a size 2—Upton wants people to know that “embracing real life” is more important than trying to look like a hyper-edited version of themselves.
Upton also spoke out about how the industry has made some improvements. A decade ago, she was bullied for being too curvy, but these days there are many more curvy models than when she emerged in the modeling scene.
“I was a really confident kid. I grew up in Florida—we were always in bikinis, and it was nothing weird. So I never realized that I had a different body type, or that people would have an opinion on my body. When I first started modeling, it was a different time. Some people thought I was too curvy. Now people forget that happened, which actually makes me happy because I think it shows how much the industry has changed. In a lot of ways, I think the industry really built me up and tore me down—and then I built myself back up,” Upton told Health.
So, let’s take this moment to realize that while we have made some progress in the fashion industry, social media filters and airbrushing still have an effect on the public’s standards of beauty. Kate’s Strong4Me program is focused on helping each woman recognize that it takes dedication and time to build strength and that what is most important in the grand scheme of things is feeling healthy—not looking like a mannequin.
