Curvy Model Hunter McGrady’s Body-Positivity Movement Is Inspiring Women to Send Her Their Swimsuit Pics

Hunter McGrady made waves as the curviest model ever featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, wearing only body paint in the steamy shoot.

She has been open about how long it took her to accept her shape and love her stretch marks and how now she’s more successful than ever before. McGrady is 5-foot-11, with a bust measuring 45 inches and a 38-inch waist, per her Wilhelmina Models stats.

Now she’s taking her self-love and turning it into a movement, by promoting body positivity on social media. She shared a snap of herself in a high-cut, skimpy black one-piece and called on all her followers to practice what she preaches: “My body is WORTHY. YOU are worthy. We are ALL worthy. I’ve started a new hashtag #AllWorthy and I am leaving it open ended as that can be filled in with so many incredible words.”

McGrady tells us that it all started while she was kicking back and watching TV. Her mind started racing, and she came up with the concept organically.

“Everyone has a hashtag. I wanted to find something that would relate to me and it wasn’t coming to me. One day, I was thinking back on these past couple of months. When I was 17, I never would have thought I’d be worthy enough to be in the situation I am in now. I never thought I measured up. But we’re all worthy of feeling beautiful and loved. And that’s my hashtag,” she tells Yahoo Style.

Since the post went up, McGrady has gotten a slew of responses. One, in particular, stood out.

“I had a girl who direct-messaged me a photo of herself in a swimsuit. It’s the first time she’d taken a photo of herself in a swimsuit. It’s spectacular. I feel like I’m dreaming,” says McGrady.

As for that swimsuit she’s wearing in the post: McGrady says she didn’t know quite how, um, revealing it would be. But she rocked it anyway. “I didn’t even realize — I hadn’t shaved that day. I just put it on. I don’t know if I’d wear it to the beach, but for a photo shoot, it’s fun,” she says.

The model gets messages from fans and followers every day. And, yes, she reads them.

“I’m in tears all the time. A woman had reached out to me and said she hadn’t been intimate with her husband while being fully naked. It was the first time in 13 years,” says McGrady. “She felt sexy. I was so shocked and so incredibly inspired by that, to continue doing what I’m doing. Bigger sizes are not represented in the media. Women think they have to maintain a certain size to be loved and be beautiful, and it’s [nonsense].”

Lest you think McGrady never has off days, she’s here to tell you otherwise.

“I have my moments where I wake up and feel bloated and have acne. It’s crazy. I’m human. I have these days, of course. Otherwise, how could I possibly relate to anyone? I try to get myself out of the slumps and tell myself that today I am going to own my body and my outfit. That’s my goal every day,” she says.

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

• Jessica Chastain’s Fairy-Tale Fashion Moment Isn’t What You Think

• In ‘Big Little Lies,’ Nicole Kidman Learned How to Cover Her Bruises on Camera

• Scarlett Johansson Is ‘Incredibly Proud’ to Show Her Daughter She’s a Working Mom
  

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.