• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Thank you Ashley

Posted: Feb 26th 2016 By: Mick Foley

Until five minutes ago, I had no intention of writing an article about Ashley Graham or buying a copy of the annual SportsIllustrated swimsuit issue. But here I am writing, and tomorrow I'll seek out that Sports Illustrated, and make a purchase to support Ashley Graham - and by extension, every woman who has ever been denied a place in the fashion world because they were considered too large to appear on the pages of magazines, on the screens of televisions and movies, or at fashion shows around the world.

So what happened five minutes ago to change my mind? Well, I read a quote from former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, and the Foley blood just started boiling. Here is Tiegs on E News, talking about Ashley Graham: "I don't like it that we're talking about full figured women, because it's glamorizing them - and your waist should be smaller than 35 (inches)."

Before I proceed, let me state that it is a matter of historical record (in the pages of my New York Times #1 best-seller "Have a Nice Day") that I grew up as a Tiegs fan, and spent many an hour purposefully wading through the giant SI stacks in the Foley basement (yes, we had about 10 years of SI's at the house) specifically looking for Cheryl in those classic 1970's swimsuit issues.

What the heck could Cheryl Tiegs have been thinking? In saying "I don't think we should be talking about full-figured women because it glamorizes them", she makes THEM sound almost disdainful; as if full-figured women are some second-class species, undeserving of the type of adulation and attention given to the often stick-thin ladies who have dominated the pages of fashion magazines for decades - giving a generation of women an almost impossible, often unhealthy ideal to try to live up to. Perhaps Tiegs could think back to her own 2001 bikini photo on the cover of "More" magazine - that rightfully earned her praise for helping break down the age barrier in the fashion world - and realize that true beauty always has been, and always will be in the eye of the beholder - and that in the eyes of many a beholder (including this one) Ashley Graham is a stunning example of beauty and health, who is breaking down a barrier of her own; the barrier of size in the fashion world.

Thank you Ashley, for showing the world that true beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Thank you, Sports Illustrated, for having the courage to allow Ashley this opportunity - and for giving me the perfect excuse to once again thumb through an SI swimsuit issue. Now that I think of it, I better pick up the Ronda Rousey cover too...wouldn't want her angry with me.

Share it if you like it.

Mick Foley
Full-figured 3X WWE Champion