Model Behavior (PLEASE READ POST #1 BEFORE POSTING)

[Vladita]

At least she's laughing all the way to her bank..

 

[petit fours]

Ale looks amazing, but i dont like the mother-daughter posing. It kinda scares me, a little kid should not know or do posing like that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRod5sYmj5o&feature=player_embedded#!

 

[Gabriel29]

^Anja is the cutest kid! I love how happy she got when Ale put the tiara on her haha

But yeah the posing was weird.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

i thought this was very interesting and brave for Cameron to speak out

 

[xoxoadore]

I felt she was a bit nervous but totally delivered, it sounded very honest and I wish it were longer. Thanks for posting!

 

[petit fours]

Cameron is simply wonderful!

 

[LabelWhore4]

Yeah, we definitely needed a pretty white girl to tell us how hard it is for minorities.

No thanks.

 

[iluvjeisa]

She did a good job. She could of course have talked for an hour.

It would be pretty interesting to hear what the reaction to her talk would have been if she had kept the first dress on vs if she did the transformation.

 

[ad041715]

My opinion of Cameron Russell has totally changed. She seems like a very intelligent young woman and a great speaker at that. I commend her for choosing to talk about racial privilege. It takes a lot for a white, pretty woman to go up on stage in front of many and talk about such a subject.

I also loved the 'transformation' that preceded the speech. What an effective attention getter!

 

[Northern Star]

Nervous start apart, she did a fantastic job and is obviously very smart and articulate. Some of the issues she spoke about don't get enough attention in the media. Kudos to her.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

Yeah, we definitely needed a pretty white girl to tell us how hard it is for minorities.

No thanks.

i dont think that was the point. I think she was honestly stating a fact as to why the modeling industry isn't what it seems. I think it would have actually been worse to leave that out, seeing as how that is one of the top issues that still exists. I didnt see Liu, Joan, Chanel, Jourdan, Ming, or any other of the "token" girls up on that stage. I thought it was nice to hear voice an always ignored concern that I didn't think white models even cared about.

 

[LabelWhore4]

i dont think that was the point. I think she was honestly stating a fact as to why the modeling industry isn't what it seems. I think it would have actually been worse to leave that out, seeing as how that is one of the top issues that still exists. I didnt see Liu, Joan, Chanel, Jourdan, Ming, or any other of the "token" girls up on that stage. I thought it was nice to hear voice an always ignored concern that I didn't think white models even cared about.

No I get it. But why is it always their point of view that gets reported on??????

 

[franki]

^ tbh i don't think the point of view of models really gets reported on much at all, whether they are white or not. the only models we here from are the supers, and their stories aren't necessarily a reflection of the majority of models. otherwise, it is usually an agent or booker etc talking about how tough it is to 'make it' in general.

personally, i thought the speech was a little weak and lacked direction. i know it is hard to fit such a big topic into 10 minutes but i think she chopped and changed between points. one minute talking about how she was just lucky and won the genetic lottery, then about the underrepresentation of minorities in modeling, then about photoshopping etc, and then back to minorities again.

 

[Littleathquakes]

^ agree, I don't think the speech is as powerful as everyone thinks it is.
It definitely bore an honest and often unspoken truth about the modeling industry - that I applaud her for. However, as someone who's not white, I was quite well aware of that fact already, thank you Cameron.

But the whole "modeling isn't a career path" point of her speech - by all means, Cameron, do tell us how hard it is, you know, with you being so successful...

I understand she had every intention of empowering younger people, especially girls, and trying to steer them into more untraveled paths, rather than expected paths (such as modeling, if you happen to have won that gene pool lottery). But as someone who's benefited from it so much, which she had the honesty to acknowledge in her speech, she can't tell people not to do it. It's totally ironic on her part.

 

[LabelWhore4]

^We have a winner!

 

[theBlueRider]

I think what Cameron had to say is very atypical of what we usually hear from successful white models. For example, her point of view is totally different from Karlie's interpretation of the industry in "This is How I Made It" on MTV.

I have to say, though, that I think the industry is very complex and different models interpret it differently because they all have different experiences. I know that Cameron never had to do stay-work stints in secondary markets like Singapore, Seoul, South Africa and I don't think she had a lot of rejection from agencies and clients at the beginning of her career. Someone who had those experiences, however, probably has a totally different outlook.

The story and perspective I want to hear most is from Joan Smalls. Mainly because she knows both sides of the industry: as a successful blown up top model and as a struggling broke "C level" unknown model.

The only issues I have is that Cameron didn't offer light to some type of resolution to the situation. It was more like "this is how it is and it's never going to change so don't try." But as someone working in the industry, I see changes and I do believe there is a light. I think people in the industry can proactively make it better and make more positive images which will lead to a domino effect on their audience. She's right that image is powerful. The people who create those images are powerful. Fashion, music and movies can play a very strong role in young society whether it's opening up their minds to a new way of looking at things or a gradual exposure of something different.

I also don't think it's necessarily right to tell young girls to stay away from modeling per se. There are many young women who go into modeling and acting to make money for school or pay off student loans so they can become successful lawyers, doctors, politicians etc. They aren't necessarily the "it" girl or top fashion models but there is a world of bread and butter, commercial and catalog jobs that help girls gain ground (I personally know many of them). If a girl is going to college in Chicago and has the opportunity to work with Ford Chicago or Factor Chicago or if a girl goes to UCLA and Next LA approaches her, hey, why not? It's a secondary market with tons of money/commercial jobs that a student/model can partake as a side job.

 

[iluvjeisa]

^^&^^^ Yeah. She did leave out why she had been successful when so many others fail. She left out that "winning the genetic lottery" is not just something that has to do with looks. Much is pointing to that intelligence has a strong genetic component as well.

She really simplified the concept of beauty. She exaggerated the extent to which it is genetically determined and seemed to think that other "gifts" are somehow deserved - when in fact, they are largely genetically determined - or at least partially determined, just like appearance.

But I still think she showed that she is a bright young woman with skills that go far beyond her exterior. And I think her point - to warn girls from pursuing modeling - is a good one. For most girls, modeling seems like an unpleasant experience.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

Kudos to Cameron for providing a strong and intelligent voice for people who are too often "seen" but not "heard."

 

[zacatecas570]

^Exactly, is not easy to talk in front many people, she did ok for those 10 min she had. And the fact that the "pretty white girl" is talking for minority just shows her interest and concern for other people, I'm latino, and I think it was great, sometimes people always are so negative, and feel ofended all the time, we need to appreciate kind and honest people like Cameron.

 

[Larek]

I think her presentation was great. She was nervous, you could tell, but altogether it was thought-provoking, just like a TED talk should be.
I think it was a interesting topic and the examples given were all relevant.

kuddos to her for standing in front of people and deliver that talk.