I think it’s really important to have people like Russell be the ones to bring up subjects like this. It might be a little dodgy to say, but having somebody like her put forward messages about peoples’ image makes people listen; people are drawn to conventional beauty, and from that she can captivate a larger audience.

That aside, I really like that she addresses children in their wanting to be models. It says a lot that somebody who fits societal standards of beauty and is being held in high esteem for her looks is willing to step back and say “Hey, no, this isn’t what you want.” Not in a shaming way of course, but because she doesn’t want kids to ignore their potential to become anything by only focusing on their appearance. I think that notion makes her a great role model. With that being said, I also feel that it’s harmful for people to negate somebody’s intelligence by only recognizing their beauty; the two aren’t mutually exclusive, and people need to realize that somebody’s value as viewed from the outside can also be present on the inside.

What upsets me about our recognition to trying to be beautiful all the time is that now I feel the standards are even more difficult to met. As a girl looking good with make up is always a good thing, but NOW people are determined to be less superficial therefore you also need to have natural beauty. If you look hot with make up good for you, but you need to also be able to look equally as attractive with sweats, a hoodie, and not an ounce of make up too because pounds of make up is “soooo fake” When will us girls catch a break?

I love everything that Cameron Russell said in her speech. It is so true that looks are superficial. The terms she uses such as “genetic lottery” and “legacy” to describe how she has an advantage over others is really powerful. I also really enjoyed the humor in her speech, The whole time she was speaking, it made me wonder why she never stopped modeling. Why would she continue doing something that she admits hurts and oppresses other people? Aside from this, I really enjoyed her speech. She was very eloquent and made me think differently about the modeling world.

this note did bring some memories back when I was applying for jobs for the first time. My dad told me to make sure that personal look must be neat and sharp because it the job market all applicants look good and if you don’t, you are in a disadvantage even if you have not said the first word in your interview. I believe that women must have it more difficult that males since our system is based in a patriarchy, however being a minority male is probably even harder. As the note said that we are more likely to be stopped by police officers and even if there has not been any good reason to be stopped but things can get out of control and really bad things can happen from missing understandings. We do not have to look far for a example and we can remember the fruit vale incident where an innocent black male lost his life due to racial profiling and discrimination from a white officer. We as society can learn from our past social struggles and implement smooth solutions to the feminist movement and for sure our little girls would dream of becoming The President of The United States instead of models, nonetheless, if your job is a honest job, then there should not be any shame at all but always dream for the best.

I find it very interesting that a supermodel is saying that little girls should not aspire to be supermodels. Models are all over the cover of magazines and represent brands of clothing that millions of girls wear and they are being told to not want to be that. I think that at some point in a girl’s life, she wishes that she could become a model, I know I did, but as I grew older I noticed I would criticize myself because I did not have the qualifications. I am not tall enough, I am to shy, and the list could go on and on if I kept trying to find more problems, but I realized that I did was find more problems instead of feel beautiful and comfortable in my skin. It is also interesting that Ms. Russell says that supermodels are the most insecure women in the world, and yet these are the women that young girls are suppose to be looking up to as their role models, so shouldn’t they be confident in themselves before speaking out to young girls about how important it is to love your body? I think it is great that a model is standing up and saying these things because then maybe it will show young girls that you do not have to become a supermodel to make an impact on the world.

I think Cameron Russell has a point that we put too much judgment on physical beauty. For the most part, if you’re not white, skinny and flawless; than society will not find you attractive. If you fall in that category, you can get anything you want. I praise her for her honesty on being insecure. I believe most models are insecure about their bodies or looks in general. Hence the reasons so many of them have eating disorders and other health problems. As she shows the pictures of herself modeling and her normal pictures of herself, you can see a huge difference. It takes a lot of people to make someone look that “picture perfect” and flawless. When she did the cover-up with clothes, it probably made the audience pay more attention to her speech than her body.

Even though my husband and I were always telling our daughter she’s beautiful, she still was starting to fall for the whole “model image” thing. She gained weight before she grew taller and people were calling her “fat”, “chubby” and other such names. She wanted to be like her friends who were sizes 0-6, whereas she was a size 16. We kept telling her looks aren’t everything – it’s what’s on the inside that really matters. Today, she is a size 8 and 4 inches taller. With hard work and dedication, she’s lost weight and gained confidence. The funny thing is that her “skinny” friends are now jealous of her. She has curves and they are just boards. Most of all, she didn’t have to “dumb herself down” to be accepted. She has just excelled her intelligence! She now realizes that her brains and inner beauty is more important than her outer beauty; she’s just more comfortable and confidant in her own skin. I know I’m being bias but my daughter will always be beautiful to me, no matter what!