Cameron Russell demonstrates the power of image in her Ted Talk “Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.” Within the first few seconds of her talk Russell does a "quick change," transforming her outfit from a fitted black dress to a long skirt and cardigan. She does this, as she mentions, to demonstrate the power of image and how it can change so easily - mentioning as she changes, “I’m quite privileged to be able to transform what you think of me in a very brief 10 seconds. Not everybody gets to do that.” Russel performs this simple step of adding skirt and cardigan to a dress in order to exhibit to her viewers that even one’s judgment of someone, as it pertains to their image, can be transformed so simply as she states, “Image is powerful. But also image is superficial. I just totally transformed what you thought of me in six seconds.”
Russell continues her talk as she shows a series of her modeling photos pointing out the truth behind them and how they have been manipulated in order to send the message they intend. She demonstrated this by pulling up photos side by side, showing the model photo and a regular photo of her from the same day. She does this in order to point out the difference between them. Russell illustrates how these photos are built by a team of professionals but that ultimately, she states, “These pictures are not pictures of me, they are constructions.” She speaks about the "genetic lottery" and "legacy," a legacy that our society has promoted and developed over centuries as a prominent image that correlates to beauty. Cameron says that in our modern day society, beauty has become defined as more than health, symmetry and youth but also tall, slender figures, femininity and white skin.
In her talk Russell further points out that everyone always asks her if as a model she receives free things. She responds with pointing out that the free things she receives are not just the shoes and clothes, but things that come along with privilege, such as being pulled over by a police officer but not receiving a ticket. However, she points out that these free things are a part of the superficiality of image in that she receives free things for how she looks but not for who she is. Russell points out that this is connected to the problem with racial discrimination that comes with the misrepresentation of image in our society.
Russell's final point was connected to the insecurity that comes with being a model. She points out that most people would think she is happy because she is beautiful. Russell indicates that it is rather the opposite because she has to worry about what she looks like every day. She reveals that although these women appear beautiful in their publications, in real life they are left completely insecure of themselves because they are forced to be constantly aware of how they look.
Lastly, Russell adds how writing this talk was like trying to unpack a loaded problem, “Mostly it was difficult to unpack a legacy of gender and racial oppression when I am one of the biggest beneficiaries." Yes,ultimately her hope is that by hearing her message you will be able to “Acknowledge the power of image in our perceived successes and our perceived failures."
You can watch Cameron’s short, yet powerful, talk online here.
