7 Reasons Barbie Ferreira Should Be Your New Body Image Role Model

Barbie Ferreira is a 19-year-old model who is taking the fashion world by storm and not showing any mercy to anyone in her way. It's so refreshing to see a model like Barbie strutting her stuff wherever she goes. As a curvier girl myself, Barbie not only serves as representation, but a role model.

When I see her posts on Instagram, my immediate response is always "damnnnnnn gurl, kill it" and then that attitude almost always reflects back to my own self esteem. I truly love her and here are some reasons why. 

1. She recognizes "plus-sized" as an industry, not a size. 

"Plus-sized" modeling is such a wide variety of sizes and bodies that "at the end of the day, its inaccurate and unnecessary." "People put you in little groups and it makes you not have as many opportunities as everyone else," she said in an interview. 

2. She recognizes how problematic high end fashion really is. 

In her interview with i-D, she said "I realize that I can do whatever the f***k I want at my size."

Fashion is for everyone, not just super tall, super thin women. This has been a problem for ages now. Starving models and overly-demanding agents are not new phenomena which makes them even more problematic. 

3. She uses social media as her platform for diversity awareness in the industry. 

She used social media to get started in modeling by sending pictures she took herself to American Apparel, and now she uses her Instagram and Twitter to promote diversity and inclusion in every form. 

She also mentions in an interview with i-D that she "takes it upon herself to be a spokesperson for curvy, young girls everywhere" and gives full credit to social media for bringing issues of diversity and inclusion to light.

4. She wants to crush the idea that clothes are made to be "flattering"—whatever that means. 

Real talk—where did the idea that clothes are supposed to make people look skinny even come from? 

In her interview with Misguided, Barbie admits that she was insecure about her body at one point but came to the realization that the your body is nothing to be ashamed of. Clothing is made to be worn, not to make someone look a different size. 

5. She literally does not allow her photos to be retouched or edited.

Her breakthrough campaign was with Aerie REAL, a campaign by American Eagle that used models of all sizes and absolutely no retouching. 

In the campaigns video, Barbie says "not being retouched is really important to me. People knowing that that's what my body looks like without any one's perception of what my body needs to look like."

6. Barbie's message is that everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin, no matter their shape or size.

As long as you are comfortable with yourself and who you are, no one can tell you to be anything different. This is not to say that "regular" sized models can't be role models—anyone can be a role model.  

7. Because of strong women like Barbie, I have been able to step out of my comfort zone.

Thanks to Barbie and other models like her, I have been able to tackle some of my own body image issues that have been engrained in my head since I was little. 

I used to hate jeans because I never thought they were "flattering," but honestly, who cares? This whole notion of "dress for your body" is such BS. Being confident is so much more empowering than wearing something just because you know it's "flattering."

Wear whatever you want. Be yourself. Be strong, powerful, and unapologetic. Who cares what people say about you? Love yourself and embrace your body, no matter what, just like Barbie.