WEBVTT 00:00:00.306 --> 00:00:02.926 Hi. My name is Cameron Russell, 00:00:02.950 --> 00:00:08.979 and for the last little while, I've been a model. 00:00:09.003 --> 00:00:11.344 Actually, for 10 years. 00:00:12.990 --> 00:00:15.146 And I feel like 00:00:15.170 --> 00:00:17.970 there's an uncomfortable tension in the room right now 00:00:17.994 --> 00:00:20.017 because I should not have worn this dress. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:20.041 --> 00:00:21.799 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:21.823 --> 00:00:24.297 So luckily, I brought an outfit change. 00:00:24.321 --> 00:00:27.946 This is the first outfit change on the TED stage, 00:00:27.970 --> 00:00:30.992 so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think. 00:00:31.016 --> 00:00:33.933 If some of the women were really horrified when I came out, 00:00:33.957 --> 00:00:37.100 you don't have to tell me now, but I'll find out later on Twitter. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:37.124 --> 00:00:40.344 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:42.315 --> 00:00:44.173 I'd also note that I'm quite privileged 00:00:44.197 --> 00:00:47.251 to be able to transform what you think of me 00:00:47.275 --> 00:00:49.914 in a very brief 10 seconds. 00:00:49.938 --> 00:00:51.683 Not everybody gets to do that. 00:00:53.400 --> 00:00:57.234 These heels are very uncomfortable, so good thing I wasn't going to wear them. 00:00:59.239 --> 00:01:01.760 The worst part is putting this sweater over my head, 00:01:01.784 --> 00:01:03.833 because that's when you'll all laugh at me, 00:01:03.857 --> 00:01:05.965 so don't do anything while it's over my head. 00:01:07.745 --> 00:01:08.762 All right. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:10.983 --> 00:01:13.690 So, why did I do that? 00:01:13.714 --> 00:01:14.920 That was awkward. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:14.944 --> 00:01:16.872 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:16.896 --> 00:01:18.007 Well -- NOTE Paragraph 00:01:18.031 --> 00:01:20.397 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:20.421 --> 00:01:24.112 Hopefully not as awkward as that picture. 00:01:25.306 --> 00:01:28.064 Image is powerful, 00:01:28.088 --> 00:01:31.489 but also, image is superficial. 00:01:33.036 --> 00:01:37.455 I just totally transformed what you thought of me, in six seconds. 00:01:37.479 --> 00:01:39.294 And in this picture, 00:01:39.318 --> 00:01:41.865 I had actually never had a boyfriend in real life. 00:01:42.643 --> 00:01:44.436 I was totally uncomfortable, 00:01:44.460 --> 00:01:46.938 and the photographer was telling me to arch my back 00:01:46.962 --> 00:01:48.657 and put my hand in that guy's hair. 00:01:51.013 --> 00:01:52.989 And of course, barring surgery, 00:01:53.013 --> 00:01:56.430 or the fake tan that I got two days ago for work, 00:01:56.454 --> 00:02:00.191 there's very little that we can do to transform how we look, 00:02:00.215 --> 00:02:03.647 and how we look, though it is superficial and immutable, 00:02:03.671 --> 00:02:05.981 has a huge impact on our lives. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:08.034 --> 00:02:12.638 So today, for me, being fearless means being honest. 00:02:12.662 --> 00:02:15.523 And I am on this stage because I am a model. 00:02:15.547 --> 00:02:19.250 I am on this stage because I am a pretty, white woman, 00:02:19.274 --> 00:02:22.015 and in my industry, we call that a sexy girl. 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:24.886 I'm going to answer the questions that people always ask me, 00:02:24.910 --> 00:02:26.208 but with an honest twist. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:26.232 --> 00:02:29.110 So the first question is, how do you become a model? 00:02:29.134 --> 00:02:31.143 I always just say, "Oh, I was scouted," 00:02:31.167 --> 00:02:32.325 but that means nothing. 00:02:32.349 --> 00:02:35.430 The real way that I became a model 00:02:35.454 --> 00:02:38.917 is I won a genetic lottery, and I am the recipient of a legacy, 00:02:38.941 --> 00:02:41.037 and maybe you're wondering what is a legacy. 00:02:41.061 --> 00:02:43.783 Well, for the past few centuries 00:02:43.807 --> 00:02:49.301 we have defined beauty not just as health and youth 00:02:49.325 --> 00:02:53.087 and symmetry that we're biologically programmed to admire, 00:02:53.111 --> 00:02:56.623 but also as tall, slender figures, 00:02:56.647 --> 00:02:59.870 and femininity and white skin. 00:02:59.894 --> 00:03:01.942 And this is a legacy that was built for me, 00:03:01.966 --> 00:03:04.416 and it's a legacy that I've been cashing out on. 00:03:04.440 --> 00:03:06.470 And I know there are people in the audience 00:03:06.494 --> 00:03:08.186 who are skeptical at this point, 00:03:08.210 --> 00:03:10.687 and maybe there are some fashionistas who are like, 00:03:10.711 --> 00:03:13.230 "Wait. Naomi. Tyra. Joan Smalls. Liu Wen." 00:03:13.254 --> 00:03:16.397 And first, I commend you on your model knowledge. Very impressive. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:16.421 --> 00:03:18.053 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:18.077 --> 00:03:21.606 But unfortunately, I have to inform you that in 2007, 00:03:21.630 --> 00:03:24.116 a very inspired NYU Ph.D. student 00:03:24.140 --> 00:03:27.742 counted all the models on the runway, every single one that was hired, 00:03:27.766 --> 00:03:30.870 and of the 677 models that were hired, 00:03:30.894 --> 00:03:34.387 only 27, or less than four percent, were non-white. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:35.637 --> 00:03:37.570 The next question people always ask is, 00:03:37.594 --> 00:03:39.219 "Can I be a model when I grow up?" 00:03:39.243 --> 00:03:42.877 And the first answer is, "I don't know, they don't put me in charge of that." 00:03:42.901 --> 00:03:44.294 But the second answer, 00:03:44.318 --> 00:03:47.072 and what I really want to say to these little girls is, 00:03:47.096 --> 00:03:49.086 "Why? You know? You can be anything. 00:03:49.110 --> 00:03:51.356 You could be the President of the United States, 00:03:51.380 --> 00:03:53.157 or the inventor of the next Internet, 00:03:53.181 --> 00:03:55.139 or a ninja cardiothoracic surgeon poet, 00:03:55.163 --> 00:03:57.830 which would be awesome, because you'd be the first one." NOTE Paragraph 00:03:57.854 --> 00:04:00.016 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:00.040 --> 00:04:02.374 If, after this amazing list, they still are like, 00:04:02.398 --> 00:04:04.303 "No, no, Cameron, I want to be a model," 00:04:04.327 --> 00:04:05.941 well, then I say, "Be my boss." 00:04:05.965 --> 00:04:07.831 Because I'm not in charge of anything, 00:04:07.855 --> 00:04:10.382 and you could be the editor in chief of American Vogue 00:04:10.406 --> 00:04:12.542 or the CEO of H&M, or the next Steven Meisel. 00:04:13.031 --> 00:04:15.412 Saying that you want to be a model when you grow up 00:04:15.436 --> 00:04:18.770 is akin to saying that you want to win the Powerball when you grow up. 00:04:18.794 --> 00:04:22.214 It's out of your control, and it's awesome, 00:04:22.238 --> 00:04:23.640 and it's not a career path. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:24.316 --> 00:04:28.283 I will demonstrate for you now 10 years of accumulated model knowledge, 00:04:28.307 --> 00:04:30.212 because unlike cardiothoracic surgeons, 00:04:30.236 --> 00:04:32.938 it can just be distilled right now. 00:04:32.962 --> 00:04:36.022 So, if the photographer is right there, 00:04:36.046 --> 00:04:38.103 the light is right there, like a nice HMI, 00:04:38.127 --> 00:04:40.274 and the client says, "We want a walking shot," 00:04:40.298 --> 00:04:43.982 this leg goes first, nice and long, this arm goes back, this arm goes forward, 00:04:44.006 --> 00:04:46.924 the head is at three quarters, and you just go back and forth, 00:04:46.948 --> 00:04:49.948 just do that, and then you look back at your imaginary friends, 00:04:49.972 --> 00:04:51.691 300, 400, 500 times. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:51.715 --> 00:04:53.395 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:53.419 --> 00:04:55.206 It will look something like this. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:57.417 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:57.441 --> 00:05:00.369 Hopefully less awkward than that one in the middle. 00:05:00.393 --> 00:05:02.944 That was -- I don't know what happened there. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:02.968 --> 00:05:05.075 Unfortunately, after you've gone to school, 00:05:05.099 --> 00:05:07.429 and you have a résumé and you've done a few jobs, 00:05:07.453 --> 00:05:08.945 you can't say anything anymore, 00:05:08.969 --> 00:05:12.016 so if you say you want to be the President of the United States, 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.446 but your résumé reads, "Underwear Model: 10 years," 00:05:14.470 --> 00:05:15.876 people give you a funny look. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:15.900 --> 00:05:18.488 The next question is, "Do they retouch all the photos?" 00:05:18.512 --> 00:05:20.893 And yeah, they pretty much retouch all the photos, 00:05:20.917 --> 00:05:23.526 but that is only a small component of what's happening. 00:05:24.006 --> 00:05:26.724 This picture is the very first picture that I ever took, 00:05:26.748 --> 00:05:29.557 and it's also the very first time that I had worn a bikini, 00:05:29.581 --> 00:05:31.361 and I didn't even have my period yet. 00:05:31.385 --> 00:05:34.512 I know we're getting personal, but I was a young girl. 00:05:34.536 --> 00:05:37.786 This is what I looked like with my grandma just a few months earlier. 00:05:39.016 --> 00:05:41.192 Here's me on the same day as this shoot. 00:05:41.216 --> 00:05:42.560 My friend got to come. 00:05:42.584 --> 00:05:45.832 Here's me at a slumber party a few days before I shot French Vogue. 00:05:46.679 --> 00:05:49.293 Here's me on the soccer team and in V Magazine. 00:05:50.787 --> 00:05:52.223 And here's me today. 00:05:52.247 --> 00:05:54.283 And I hope what you're seeing 00:05:54.307 --> 00:05:56.481 is that these pictures are not pictures of me. 00:05:56.505 --> 00:05:57.919 They are constructions, 00:05:57.943 --> 00:06:00.847 and they are constructions by a group of professionals, 00:06:00.871 --> 00:06:03.967 by hairstylists and makeup artists and photographers and stylists 00:06:03.991 --> 00:06:07.183 and all of their assistants and pre-production and post-production, 00:06:07.207 --> 00:06:08.215 and they build this. 00:06:08.239 --> 00:06:09.309 That's not me. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:09.333 --> 00:06:11.730 Okay, so the next question people always ask me is, 00:06:11.754 --> 00:06:13.080 "Do you get free stuff?" NOTE Paragraph 00:06:13.104 --> 00:06:14.150 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:14.174 --> 00:06:17.421 I do have too many 8-inch heels which I never get to wear, 00:06:17.445 --> 00:06:19.040 except for earlier, 00:06:19.064 --> 00:06:22.525 but the free stuff that I get is the free stuff that I get in real life, 00:06:22.549 --> 00:06:24.779 and that's what we don't like to talk about. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:24.803 --> 00:06:26.070 I grew up in Cambridge, 00:06:26.094 --> 00:06:28.666 and one time I went into a store and I forgot my money 00:06:28.690 --> 00:06:30.798 and they gave me the dress for free. 00:06:30.822 --> 00:06:33.318 When I was a teenager, I was driving with my friend 00:06:33.342 --> 00:06:36.009 who was an awful driver and she ran a red and of course, 00:06:36.033 --> 00:06:37.222 we got pulled over, 00:06:37.246 --> 00:06:41.053 and all it took was a "Sorry, officer," and we were on our way. 00:06:42.363 --> 00:06:45.545 And I got these free things because of how I look, 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:48.364 not who I am, and there are people paying a cost 00:06:48.388 --> 00:06:50.606 for how they look and not who they are. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:50.630 --> 00:06:52.250 I live in New York, and last year, 00:06:52.274 --> 00:06:56.053 of the 140,000 teenagers that were stopped and frisked, 00:06:56.077 --> 00:07:00.092 86% of them were black and Latino, and most of them were young men. 00:07:00.116 --> 00:07:04.578 And there are only 177,000 young black and Latino men in New York, 00:07:04.602 --> 00:07:07.317 so for them, it's not a question of, "Will I get stopped?" 00:07:07.341 --> 00:07:10.399 but "How many times will I get stopped? When will I get stopped?" 00:07:10.423 --> 00:07:11.995 When I was researching this talk, 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:15.174 I found out that of the 13-year-old girls in the United States, 00:07:15.198 --> 00:07:17.861 53% don't like their bodies, 00:07:17.885 --> 00:07:20.854 and that number goes to 78% by the time that they're 17. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:21.981 --> 00:07:24.879 So, the last question people ask me is, 00:07:24.903 --> 00:07:26.503 "What is it like to be a model?" 00:07:26.527 --> 00:07:28.910 And I think the answer that they're looking for is, 00:07:28.934 --> 00:07:31.854 "If you are a little bit skinnier and you have shinier hair, 00:07:31.878 --> 00:07:34.651 you will be so happy and fabulous." 00:07:34.675 --> 00:07:36.210 And when we're backstage, 00:07:36.234 --> 00:07:38.757 we give an answer that maybe makes it seem like that. 00:07:38.781 --> 00:07:42.261 We say, "It's really amazing to travel, and it's amazing to get to work 00:07:42.285 --> 00:07:44.885 with creative, inspired, passionate people." 00:07:44.909 --> 00:07:48.052 And those things are true, but they're only one half of the story, 00:07:48.076 --> 00:07:50.654 because the thing that we never say on camera, 00:07:50.678 --> 00:07:52.750 that I have never said on camera, is, 00:07:52.774 --> 00:07:54.146 "I am insecure." 00:07:55.158 --> 00:07:59.306 And I'm insecure because I have to think about what I look like every day. 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.572 And if you ever are wondering, 00:08:03.596 --> 00:08:07.526 "If I have thinner thighs and shinier hair, will I be happier?" 00:08:07.550 --> 00:08:09.455 you just need to meet a group of models, 00:08:09.479 --> 00:08:13.405 because they have the thinnest thighs, the shiniest hair and the coolest clothes, 00:08:13.429 --> 00:08:16.872 and they're the most physically insecure women probably on the planet. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:16.896 --> 00:08:18.278 When I was writing this talk, 00:08:18.302 --> 00:08:21.271 I found it very difficult to strike an honest balance, 00:08:21.295 --> 00:08:22.729 because on the one hand, 00:08:22.753 --> 00:08:25.165 I felt very uncomfortable to come out here and say, 00:08:25.189 --> 00:08:28.784 "Look I've received all these benefits from a deck stacked in my favor," 00:08:28.808 --> 00:08:31.999 and it also felt really uncomfortable to follow that up with, 00:08:32.023 --> 00:08:34.387 "and it doesn't always make me happy." 00:08:34.411 --> 00:08:40.286 But mostly it was difficult to unpack a legacy of gender and racial oppression 00:08:40.310 --> 00:08:42.418 when I am one of the biggest beneficiaries. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:43.822 --> 00:08:46.279 But I'm also happy and honored to be up here 00:08:46.303 --> 00:08:49.515 and I think that it's great that I got to come 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:53.212 before 10 or 20 or 30 years had passed and I'd had more agency in my career, 00:08:53.236 --> 00:08:56.710 because maybe then I wouldn't tell the story of how I got my first job, 00:08:56.734 --> 00:08:59.607 or maybe I wouldn't tell the story of how I paid for college, 00:08:59.631 --> 00:09:01.304 which seems so important right now. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:02.074 --> 00:09:03.972 If there's a takeaway to this talk, 00:09:03.996 --> 00:09:07.599 I hope it's that we all feel more comfortable acknowledging 00:09:07.623 --> 00:09:11.566 the power of image in our perceived successes 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:13.466 and our perceived failures. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:14.842 Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:14.866 --> 00:09:16.970 (Applause)