8 questions with Whitney Thompson

America's Next Top Model's first plus-sized winner Whitney Thompson is on a mission to show people that the modelling world is not all that it is glossed and airbrushed to be.

Having put curvier girls in the spotlight with her 2008 win on the modelling reality show, Thompson, 25, has been travelling the globe for shoots and runway shows with the likes of Vogue magazine, CoverGirl cosmetics and youth-oriented high street label Forever 21.

And she has paved the way for more big girls such as Australian model Robyn Lawley, 24, and fellow American Ashley Graham, 25, to strut their stuff on major runways and photograph for brands that previously worked with only reed-thin models.

Thompson was in Singapore recently for the Women To Women campaign event, where she shared her experience being an ambassador of the American-based National Eating Disorders Association.

The leggy 1.78m blonde, who is a US size 12, says that she wants to spill the beans on how models are portrayed unrealistically. For example, she says, the average model is 1.8m tall and weighs 53kg - lighter than most Americans - and the majority of models are under 16.

The Florida native says emphatically: "Women are trying to look like someone who's 13, and airbrushed into oblivion. I'm trying to tell people that that image doesn't exist. Even that girl in the photos doesn't look like that in real life. So stop trying to look like that, and celebrate yourself."

Aside from going to American colleges to speak about her experience dealing with the harsh expectations of the industry, Thompson, who was studying to be a doctor before she was discovered, has been focused on prolonging her modelling shelf life.

She has been based in London for the last two years, doing shoots and shows mostly in Europe in countries such as Turkey and Greece. And just like her mentor and creator of America's Next Top Model Tyra Banks, Thompson is also a budding entrepreneur.

She launched a line of jewellery and candles in 2009, called Super Model, though the label has taken a hiatus for now. Two years ago, she also launched The Big And The Beautiful, an online dating site for bigger women last year.

On venturing into the realm of Internet dating, she says: "Because you can hide behind a screen, often people are encouraged to lie about what they really look like. I want to get people to be real, and to find someone who loves them the way they are."

She is dating her high-school friend and artist Ian Forrester, 26.

Thompson, who was talent-spotted in an airport when she was buying a candy bar, says: "I'm thankful for each day that I still get to model and see the world. I can have my cake, and eat it too."

1) You started modelling when you were in high school and skinnier, but then gave it up to be a doctor. What made you change your mind about being a model?

It was my sister who pushed me to do the show. She thought the models were hilarious, and also that because I had now gained weight from before, I need a soapbox to say that as a size 8 and above, I am not fat. And the show really made me who I am today.

2) What do you think of the plus-sized tag?

Plus-size is not a realistic term. In the fashion industry, women who are bigger than a size 6 are considered plus-sized, while the average size of American women is a size 14. The term itself has negative connotations, so we are telling women that they are too fat.

When I go to "plus-sized" stores, the clothes are too big for me... I do not wear plus, but I am labelled as such. So it is frustrating because it's not a realistic representation.

3) What is the biggest misconception about plus-sized models?

That we are fat. I do not advocate obesity. I am not telling you to go home and eat a bucket of fried chicken and a chocolate cake. My message is that healthy is beautiful, and beautiful is not a size, an age or a procedure.

Many people who watch the show tell me online that I am a fat cow, and I find that insulting. I do work out and eat healthily.

4) You use social media such as Twitter and Instagram a lot. How do you deal with nasty weight jibes?

It was hard in the beginning. You think everyone is going to be on your side when they hear my message but you go online and they write, "she's just a dumb, fat you-know-what". I was mortified that people would hear my message and not care.

But you can only go forward. I find that people who are mean are mean for a reason. It is usually their own self-doubt or self-esteem issues.

They must be having a bad day that makes them lash out at others. It does annoy me though.

5) Would you ever lose weight for money or to get a modelling job?

Those who ask me to do that do not understand what I am about.

I was offered six figures upfront to take part in a reality television series Celebrity Fit Club, where celebrities try to lose weight. Of course, it would have been nice to have money in my back pocket, but what message would that send?

Someone will always be of the opinion that I am not thin, or even fat, enough to be a model.

6) Do you think guys are put off by bigger women?

I think most guys prefer women who have curves. If you look at evolution, men, historically, went for women with big hips and thick hair because they looked like they could bear children. That is what they are drawn to.

But women do not understand that. We are always thinking about losing an extra 10lb (4.5kg). But all the men are thinking about is you being naked. If you did not point out your flaws, they will never know.

7) Has dating been a challenge for you as a plus-sized girl?

I never had issues with boyfriends asking me to lose weight, but it was the people around them who did. I once dated a guy in high school when I was already doing some plus-sized model shoots. To them, I was fat because I was typecast as that. They could not deal with the title and made fun of me for that.

8) How would you like to be remembered?

That I was a champion for the plus-sized community. I went on America's Next Top Model and said that I wanted to change the industry and not be just a pretty face. And since then, every major chain and many couture designers such as Chanel and Ralph Lauren do plus-size.

If I could be remembered as someone who played a role in that, I would be thrilled.

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