Christie Brinkley says her daughter Sailor asked her not to use the word 'fattening'

Christie Brinkley thinks it’s time the world breaks up with the word “fattening.”

Speaking to WestlakeMalibu Lifestyle magazine, the model shared how the fashion industry has come a long way in terms of inclusion, describing a period of time in which "young women used to pick up fashion magazines and feel horrible because all the models were reed thin and they looked nothing like the girls who were reading the pages."

Now, she noted, "when you open a fashion magazine, you see people of all different ages, ethnicities and shapes – and that representation is so important."

Still, she said that while the industry is "moving in the right direction," we have to "keep moving forward."

"It’s important that we stop comparing ourselves to other women,” Brinkley explained. “Everyone is unique. It’s also important that as a society, we stop judging people and that we stop using words that are soaked in negativity. For instance, when I refer to certain foods as fattening, my daughter Sailor will say to me, ‘Mom, please don’t use that word. A more positive way of wording it is to say, ‘That food is not healthy for me’ or ‘It’s not going to provide me with the fuel that I need.’”

Sailor, 21, has previously spoken about battling an eating disorder, telling Good Morning America in 2020, “I grew up a little bit overweight and I felt the weight of my overweightness on me constantly from people teasing me and people looking at me differently. My mom didn’t know the pain that I was going through when I was at my worst.”

Brinkley’s family isn’t the only one rethinking their word choices. Earlier this month, model Coco Rocha spoke to Yahoo Life about how she doesn’t want her children to use certain words to describe people.

“We don't use the word ‘fat,’ we don't use the word ‘ugly,’” she said. “Really I want us to not look at people like that. And they've done such a good job — even telling off, sometimes, grandparents. You know, it's a different generation and [they'll say], ‘Ugh I just don't feel the prettiest’ or ‘Ugh, I feel ugly’ and [the kids will respond], ‘No, no, no, Grandma, that's not the word — you don't use that.’”