Plus-size Model wins praise for posting unretouched bikini photo

Photo: Robyn Lawley/Instagram
Australian model Robyn Lawley is no stranger to body talk. The 25-year-old chose health over mainstream success when she switched from straight-size to plus-size modeling. Since doing so, she has covered magazines including Vogue Italia, Elle France, and Cosmopolitan Australia and become the face of Mango's new plus-size line, Violeta.

Unhappy with the offerings in the plus-size swimwear department, she launched her own collection, Robyn Lawley Swimwear , full of sexy suits beginning at size 10. To promote the line's latest offerings, Lawley posted a picture of herself modeling one of the bikinis on Instagram. The candid photo of Lawley in a pink two-piece was tagged #retouchandmakeupfree and has gotten more than 1,400 likes.

She looks gorgeous – and thin – in the pic, causing many to wonder why someone with a body like Lawley's would be considered “plus size” to begin with. “If this is plus sized then I hardly know any skinny people,” one woman wrote in the comments on Lawley's Instagram. Another added “Plus size your a**, fashion industry!”

 
And the comments echoed throughout social media. “This is a plus size model? No wonder eating disorders are on the rise,” wrote one woman on Twitter. “Her body be bangin'!” commented another , sharing a different bikini pic of the model.

Lawley, a longtime body-image activist, has never been shy about talking about weight and health. Earlier this year, she and three other plus-size models created their own take on Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue cover. The shoot was sponsored by the U.S.-based plus-size brand Swimsuits For All and was designed to challenge the notion of what a “swimsuit body” is supposed to look like. “I feel sexy in a swimsuit when it's fitting me correctly and it's beautiful to look at,” Lawley said in a promotional video for the campaign.

For Lawley, whose body is her living, every single photo becomes a point of scrutiny. In June, the model posted another Instagram pic – this time of herself in workout pants and a hoodie – with commenters immediately claiming that she had lost weight and was getting too thin. Lawley addressed the comments on her Facebook page , saying, “I don't ever starve myself or diet…I try to eat as healthy as I can day to day and always have.” She also said that she stays in shape by doing yoga and kickboxing.

And what does Lawley do when she's not busy being a body-image hero and supermodel? Updating her food blog, Robyn Lawley Eats , and working on the cookbook she's due to publish next year. Models eating? In Lawley's world, it's no big deal.

Healthy Living