Say you’re Ashley Graham (we can dream, right?) and your third consecutive feature in the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is about to drop. It’s a shoot that will collect more than a million likes when you share its video on Instagram, as the model did yesterday. That’s no surprise: There’s a lot to like about Graham’s pictures, which not only look hot AF, but expand on the publication’s definition of sexy. (For the longest time, the SI swimsuit formula remained the same: a Victoria’s Secret Angel type plus sand equals cover. But in the past few years, a more diverse range of cover models have included athletes, like Ronda Rousey, a 50+ year-old Nicola Griffin and, of course, phenoms like Graham, who fronted a history-making 2016 issue as its first plus-size model.)
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But no matter who the cover star, the annual issue has served as a case study in how to show as much skin as possible with the teeniest amount of swimsuit (see: Bar Refaeli’s string bikini made of guitar picks or Heidi Klum, wrapped in not much more than a giant snake). Which brings us to Graham’s most recent pictorial, featuring a body-positive vibe that the model is famous for, plus many of the traditional elements: surf, sand, and a bikini bottom that’s smaller than a cocktail napkin. One shot shows Graham tugging the fabric downward to reveal ... well, a lot of skin below the belt. Missing? Any resemblance of pubic hair.
So if you’re Graham, how do you share the risque shot with family members? You share the shot via a family group text, sit back, and allow levity to ensue. In a post to Instagram Stories yesterday, Graham shared a screenshot of the convo, in which one member of the group scribbled a bit of body hair onto the image, adding, “Needs a bush to make this photo better.”
Graham playfully responded, “You wish your bush looked like mine.” And with that it was on, as other family members jumped in with Sir Mix-a-Lot references (“I got a big bush and I cannot lie. You other brothers can’t deny...”), followed by a quip from Graham’s own mother: “I have no bush and it’s divine. Be jealous.”
Graham’s take? A “gotta love family group text” comment, coupled with the cry laughing emoji. We’re not sure what to love more: the fact that the Graham fam keeps it real with the superstar model or that they represent such a diverse take on pubic hair preferences. Of one thing we are certain: The family that jokes together stays woke together — and that, friends, is how it’s done.