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Ashley Graham Poses Nude for Sexy Photo Shoot, Says Her Mom Helped Her Embrace Her Cellulite

She’s not shy about showing off her body! Ashley Graham stripped down and posed nude for a black-and-white photo shoot in the latest issue of V Magazine.

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In one pic, the 29-year-old model goes completely naked and flaunts her curves, covered only with a sheer net. In another sexy shot, the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl shows off her butt.

The America’s Next Top Model judge sat down with Tracee Ellis Ross for V Magazine to talk about where she got her body confidence. “It was more about experiences in my life of devaluing the fact that I was an average, normal girl living in the city. But being told, ‘You’re fat,’ ‘You’re ugly’ or ‘You’re just not good enough,’ and trying to live in these model standards, that was my normal. I think I hit bottom around 18,” she said. “I was disgusted with myself and told my mom I was coming home. And she told me, ‘No, you’re not, because you told me that this was what you wanted and I know you’re supposed to do this. It doesn’t matter what you think about your body, because your body is supposed to change somebody’s life.’ To this day that sticks with me because I’m here today and I feel that it’s OK to have cellulite.”

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Graham recalled when she first started noticing her cellulite in middle school, and how her mom explained that it was totally normal. “I remember telling my mom, ‘Isn’t it disgusting? It’s so ugly.’ She pulled her pants down and said, ‘Look, I have it, too.’ And I was like, ‘Gasp!’ She looked at me, then at it, and just rolled her eyes. She didn’t tell me that it’s beautiful or ugly. She just made it a nonissue. It doesn’t define my worth.”

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She said that she has a mantra when things get tough: “If you say, ‘I’m fat,’ that’s how you’re going to feel. If you say, ‘I’m stupid,’ that’s how you’re going to start your day. I wake up sometimes and I feel like the fattest person alive, but I’m not going to let that affect the rest of my day. Say to yourself, ‘I like this day. I am bold, I am beautiful, and I am brilliant.’ For me, that hits the interior, the exterior, and it makes me feel smart.”

The author, who is promoting her book A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty and Power Really Look Like, added that despite Photoshopping and face-tuning, she thinks Instagram is empowering for young women. “I honestly think social media has been a really great platform for young adults that haven’t been accepted,” she said. ” If nobody in their small town looks like them or is doing the same things as them, they can find people on the Internet.”

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