Hi. My name is Cameron Russell, and for the last little while, I've been a model. Actually, for 10 years. And I feel like there's an uncomfortable tension in the room right now because I should not have worn this dress.
Pershendetje, emri im eshte Cameron Rusell dhe per pak kohe kam qene modele. ne fakt prej 10 vjetesh. Kam pershtypjen qe egziston nje tension i sikletshem ne salle ne kete moment
(Laughter)
sepse nuk duhej te kisha veshur kete fustan. (Te qeshura)
So luckily, I brought an outfit change. This is the first outfit change on the TED stage, so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think. If some of the women were really horrified when I came out, you don't have to tell me now, but I'll find out later on Twitter.
Per fat te mire kam sjelle dicka per tu ndryshuar. Ky do te jete ndryshimi i pare i veshjes ne skenen e TED, keshtu qe ju jeni me fat te jeni deshmitare te kesaj skene. Nese disa nga femrat do te tmerrohen mbasi te mbaroj, nuk keni pse te me tregoni tani se do ta zbuloj me vone ne twitter.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
I'd also note that 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. These heels are very uncomfortable, so good thing I wasn't going to wear them. The worst part is putting this sweater over my head, because that's when you'll all laugh at me, so don't do anything while it's over my head. All right.
Dua te shenoj qe jam disi e privilegjuar qe jam gjendje te transformoj ate cfare mendoni per mua ne nje kohe prej 10 sekondash. Jo gjithkush mund ta arrije kete. Keto taka jane shume te parehatshme, gje e mire pasi nuk do i vishja. Pjesa me e veshtire eshte kalimi i trikos mbi koken time, sepse pikerisht ne kete moment do qeshnit me mua, keshtu qe mos beni asgje sa eshte mbi koken time. Bukur
So, why did I do that? That was awkward.
Perse e bera gjithe kete? Ishte e veshtire
(Laughter)
bukur
Well --
(Laughter)
Hopefully not as awkward as that picture. Image is powerful, but also, image is superficial. I just totally transformed what you thought of me, in six seconds. And in this picture, I had actually never had a boyfriend in real life. I was totally uncomfortable, and the photographer was telling me to arch my back and put my hand in that guy's hair. And of course, barring surgery, or the fake tan that I got two days ago for work, there's very little that we can do to transform how we look, and how we look, though it is superficial and immutable, has a huge impact on our lives.
per fat jo aq e veshtire sa kjo Imazhi eshte fuqi, por gjithashtu imazhi eshte siperfaqesor. Une arrita te transformoj cka ju mendonit per mua ne 6 sekonda. Dhe ne kete fotografi, ne fakt une nuk kam patur kurre nje te dashur ne jeten reale isha komplet ne siket, dhe fotografi me kerkonte ti jepja hark shpines and te fusja duart e mia ne floket e atij djali. Dha padyshim, pervec oeracionit, ose nxirjes fallso qe bera para dy ditesh per pune, jane te pakta gjerat qe mund te bejme per te transformuar si dukemi dhe paraqitja e jashtme edhe pse siperfaqesore dhe e pandryshueshme, ka nje impakt te madh ne jeten sone.
So today, for me, being fearless means being honest. And I am on this stage because I am a model. I am on this stage because I am a pretty, white woman, and in my industry, we call that a sexy girl. I'm going to answer the questions that people always ask me, but with an honest twist.
Keshte qe sot, per mua, te qenit pa frike do te thote e ndershme. Dhe jam ne kete skene sepse jam modele. Jam ne kete skene sepse jam nje femer e bardhe dhe e bukur, dhe ne industrime time ne e quajme nje femer sexi. Dhe do ti pergjigjem pyetjes qe njerezit me bejne gjithmone, por me te verteten.
So the first question is, how do you become a model? I always just say, "Oh, I was scouted," but that means nothing. The real way that I became a model is I won a genetic lottery, and I am the recipient of a legacy, and maybe you're wondering what is a legacy. Well, for the past few centuries we have defined beauty not just as health and youth and symmetry that we're biologically programmed to admire, but also as tall, slender figures, and femininity and white skin. And this is a legacy that was built for me, and it's a legacy that I've been cashing out on. And I know there are people in the audience who are skeptical at this point, and maybe there are some fashionistas who are like, "Wait. Naomi. Tyra. Joan Smalls. Liu Wen." And first, I commend you on your model knowledge. Very impressive.
Pyetja e pare eshte, si u bera nje modele? Dhe une gjithmone thoja, "Oh, isha nje zbulim," por kjo nuk do te thote asgje. Rruga e vertete me te cilen u bera modele eshte fitova nje llotari gjenetike, dhe jam trashegimtare e ligjshme dhe ndoshta ju jeni kureshtar se cfare trashegimie. Per shekujt e fundit ne kemi perfituar bukuri jo thjesht si shendet dhe rini dhe faktin qe jemi te programuara biologjikisht per tu admiruar, por gjithashtu si te shtatlarta, figura fine dhe feminilitet dhe lekure te bardhe. Dhe kjo eshte nje trashegimi qe eshte ndertuar enkas per mua, dhe eshte nje trashegimi nga e cila une kam perfituar. Dhe di qe ka persona ne audience qe jane skeptike ne kete pike, dhe ndoshta jane disa fashonista, si, "Wait. Naomi. Tyra. Joan Smalls. Liu Wen." E para ju pergezoj mbi njohurite tuaja mbi modelet. Shume impresive.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
But unfortunately, I have to inform you that in 2007, a very inspired NYU Ph.D. student counted all the models on the runway, every single one that was hired, and of the 677 models that were hired, only 27, or less than four percent, were non-white.
Por per fat te keq duhet t'iu informoj ju se ne 2007, nje student Ph.D. shume i inspiruar i NYU numeroi te gjitha modelet ne piste, cdo njeren prej tyre qe u punesua, dhe nga te 677 modelet e punesuara, vetem 27 ose me pak se 4 % ishin jo te bardha.
The next question people always ask is, "Can I be a model when I grow up?" And the first answer is, "I don't know, they don't put me in charge of that." But the second answer, and what I really want to say to these little girls is, "Why? You know? You can be anything. You could be the President of the United States, or the inventor of the next Internet, or a ninja cardiothoracic surgeon poet, which would be awesome, because you'd be the first one."
Pyetja tjeter qe njerezit me bejne gjithmone eshte "A mund te behem nje modele kur te rritem?" Dhe pergjigja eshte, "Nuk e di,nuk jam une ajo qe e vendos?" Por pergjigje e dyte, te cilen dua vertete ti jap ketyre vajzave te vogla eshte,"Pse"? E di cfare? Ti mund te behesh gjithcka. Mund te behesh presidente e Shteteve te Bashkuara te Amerikes, ose shpikesi i internetit te ardhshem ose nje nixha kardio-thoratic kirurg poet, gje qe do te ishte e mrekullueshme sepse do te ishe e para.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
If, after this amazing list, they still are like, "No, no, Cameron, I want to be a model," well, then I say, "Be my boss." Because I'm not in charge of anything, and you could be the editor in chief of American Vogue or the CEO of H&M, or the next Steven Meisel. Saying that you want to be a model when you grow up is akin to saying that you want to win the Powerball when you grow up. It's out of your control, and it's awesome, and it's not a career path.
Dhe nese pas kesaj liste te gjate do te thone, "Jo,jo Cameron, dua te behem nje modele" atehere do ti thoja "Behu drejtoresha ime" Sepse une nuk vendos asgje, dhe mund te behesh kryeeditori i American Vogue ose CEO i H&M, ose Steven Meisel i ardhshem. Duke thene qe deshiron te behesh modele kur te rritesh eshte njesoj si te thuash deshiron te fitosh llotarine kur te rritesh. Eshte jashte kontrollit tuaj, dhe eshte fantastike dhe nuk eshte nje rruge per karriere.
I will demonstrate for you now 10 years of accumulated model knowledge, because unlike cardiothoracic surgeons, it can just be distilled right now. So, if the photographer is right there, the light is right there, like a nice HMI, and the client says, "We want a walking shot," this leg goes first, nice and long, this arm goes back, this arm goes forward, the head is at three quarters, and you just go back and forth, just do that, and then you look back at your imaginary friends, 300, 400, 500 times.
Do demostroj per ju nje dije te akumuluar ne 10 vjet si modele, sepse ne ndryshim me kirurgun kardio-thoracic, mund te demostrohet menjehere, qe tani. Nese fotografi eshte pikerisht atje dhe drita eshte pikerisht ketu,si nje HMI e kendshme dhe klienti thote, "Cameron, ne duam nje shkrepje ne ecje e siper" atehere kjo kembe shkon e para,kendshem dhe gjate, kjo dore shkon prapa,dora tjeter shkon para koka eshte pak lart,dhe ti shkon poshte e lart vazhdon ta ribesh dhe shikon pas tek shoku imagjinar 300, 400, 500 here. (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
It will look something like this.
Do jete dicka si kjo.
(Laughter)
Hopefully less awkward than that one in the middle. That was -- I don't know what happened there.
Ndoshta me pak i pakendshem se ai i mesit. Ishte sikur, nuk e di se cfare ndodhi.
Unfortunately, after you've gone to school, and you have a résumé and you've done a few jobs, you can't say anything anymore, so if you say you want to be the President of the United States, but your résumé reads, "Underwear Model: 10 years," people give you a funny look.
Per fat te keq pasi shkoni ne shkolle dhe pasi te keni nje rezyme dhe te keni bere disa pune, nuk mund te thoni asgje me shume dhe nese thoni qe kerkoni te beheni presidenti i Shteteve te Bashkuara por rezymeja juaj thote,:"modele per veshje te brendshme:10 vjet" njerezit do t'ju veshtrojne me ironi.
The next question is, "Do they retouch all the photos?" And yeah, they pretty much retouch all the photos, but that is only a small component of what's happening. This picture is the very first picture that I ever took, and it's also the very first time that I had worn a bikini, and I didn't even have my period yet. I know we're getting personal, but I was a young girl. This is what I looked like with my grandma just a few months earlier. Here's me on the same day as this shoot. My friend got to come. Here's me at a slumber party a few days before I shot French Vogue. Here's me on the soccer team and in V Magazine. And here's me today. And I hope what you're seeing is that these pictures are not pictures of me. They are constructions, and they are constructions by a group of professionals, by hairstylists and makeup artists and photographers and stylists and all of their assistants and pre-production and post-production, and they build this. That's not me.
Pyetja tjeter te cilen me pyesin gjithmone eshte,:"A i perpunojne te gjitha fotografite?" Dhe po, pak a shume te gjitha fotografite perpunohen, por ky eshte nje detaj i vogel ai asaj qe ndodh. Kjo eshte fotografia e para qe kam bere, dhe eshte hera e pare qe kam veshur nje bikini, edhe akoma nuk me kishin filluar periodat. E kuptoj qe jane gjera personale, por une isha nje vajze e re. Keshtu dukesha disa muaj me pare me gjyshen time. Ja ku jam ne te njejten dite ne kete shkrepje. Shoqja ime duhej te vinte me mua. Ketu jam ne nje feste pizhamesh pak dite para fotove per French Vogue. Ja ku jam me skuandren e futbollit dhe ne revisten V. Dhe ja ku jam sot. Dhe shpresoj qe te kuptoni qe keto fotografi nuk jane fotografite e mia. Keta jane perpunime, dhe jane perpunime nga nje grup profesionistesh, nga parukiere dhe artiste makjazhi dhe fotograf dhe stiliste dhe nga gjithe asistentet e tyre dhe parapunime e paspunime dhe ata ndertuan kete. Kjo nuk jam une. Pyetja tjeter te cilen gjithmone me pyesin eshte,
Okay, so the next question people always ask me is, "Do you get free stuff?"
"A merr gjera falas?"
(Laughter)
Kam shume kepuce me taka 8 inc te cilat nuk i vesh kurre,
I do have too many 8-inch heels which I never get to wear, except for earlier, but the free stuff that I get is the free stuff that I get in real life, and that's what we don't like to talk about.
pervecse me heret, por gjerat falas qe kam marre jane gjera qe i kam marre ne jeten reale dhe jane gjera te cilat nuk na pelqen te flasim.
I grew up in Cambridge, and one time I went into a store and I forgot my money and they gave me the dress for free. When I was a teenager, I was driving with my friend who was an awful driver and she ran a red and of course, we got pulled over, and all it took was a "Sorry, officer," and we were on our way. And I got these free things because of how I look, not who I am, and there are people paying a cost for how they look and not who they are.
Jam rritur ne Cambridge dhe njehere u futa ne nje dyqan por kisha harruar parate dhe ata me dhuruan nje fustan falas. Kur kam qene adoleshente,isha ne makine bashke me nje shoqe e cila ishte nje shofere shume e keqe dhe kaloi me te kuqe dhe patjeter qe u ndaluam dhe u desh vetem te thonim "Oficer, na fal" dhe keshtu shpetuam. Dhe arrita keto 3 gjera gratis nga aparenca ime dhe jo nga cila jam, dhe ka njerez qe paguajne per shkak te aparences dhe jo per shkak se cilet jane.
I live in New York, and last year, of the 140,000 teenagers that were stopped and frisked, 86% of them were black and Latino, and most of them were young men. And there are only 177,000 young black and Latino men in New York, so for them, it's not a question of, "Will I get stopped?" but "How many times will I get stopped? When will I get stopped?" When I was researching this talk, I found out that of the 13-year-old girls in the United States, 53% don't like their bodies, and that number goes to 78% by the time that they're 17.
Une jetoj ne New York dhe vitin e kaluar nga 140 000 adoleshente te ndaluar e kontrolluar 86 % prej tyre ishin me Ngjyre ose Latin dhe shumica e tyre ishin djem te rinj. Dhe ka gjithsej 177 000 djem me ngjyre dhe Latin ne New York dhe per ta eshte e pakuptimte pyetja "A do ndalohem" por "Sa here do te ndalohem?" "Kur do ndalohem?" Kur po kerkoja material per kete fjalim arrita te konstatoja se nga vajzat 13 vjecare ne Shtetet e Bashkuara te Amerikes 53 % nuk pelqejne trupin e tyre, dhe kjo perqindje shkon ne 78 per moshen 17 vjecare.
So, the last question people ask me is, "What is it like to be a model?" And I think the answer that they're looking for is, "If you are a little bit skinnier and you have shinier hair, you will be so happy and fabulous." And when we're backstage, we give an answer that maybe makes it seem like that. We say, "It's really amazing to travel, and it's amazing to get to work with creative, inspired, passionate people." And those things are true, but they're only one half of the story, because the thing that we never say on camera, that I have never said on camera, is, "I am insecure." And I'm insecure because I have to think about what I look like every day. And if you ever are wondering, "If I have thinner thighs and shinier hair, will I be happier?" you just need to meet a group of models, because they have the thinnest thighs, the shiniest hair and the coolest clothes, and they're the most physically insecure women probably on the planet.
Pyetja e fundit te cilen me pyesin eshte "Si eshte te jesh nje modele?" Dhe mendoj se pergjigja te cilen kerkojne eshte "Nese je pak e lezecme dhe nese ke floke te shndritshem" do jesh e lumtur dhe e mrekullueshme." Dhe kur jemi ne prapaskene, japin nje pergjigje qe ndoshta do ngjasonte ne kete menyre Ne themi "Eshte vertete e mrekullueshme te shetisesh, eshte e mrekullueshme te shkosh ne pune njerez me kreativitet, te inspiruar dhe apasionante" Te gjitha keto jane te verteta por jane vetem gjysma e historise sepse gjeja e vetme qe nuk themi para kameras qe nuk kam thene asnjehere para kameras eshte "Jam e pasigurte" Jam e pasigurte pasi me duhet te mendoj se si dukem cdo dite. Dhe nese ndonjehere do pyesni veten "Nese kam kembe me te holla dhe floke me te shndritshem, a do jem me e lumtur?" ju mjafton te takoni nje grup modelesh sepse ata kane kembet me te holla dhe floket me te shendritshem dhe rrobat me te bukura dhe ndoshta ata jane femrat me te pasigurta fizikisht ne planet.
When I was writing this talk, I found it very difficult to strike an honest balance, because on the one hand, I felt very uncomfortable to come out here and say, "Look I've received all these benefits from a deck stacked in my favor," and it also felt really uncomfortable to follow that up with, "and it doesn't always make me happy." But mostly it was difficult to unpack a legacy of gender and racial oppression when I am one of the biggest beneficiaries.
Kur po pergatisja kete fjalim,ishte shume e veshtire te vendosja nje balance te drejte sepse ne nje ane ishte shume e parehatshme te dilja ketu e te thoja Shiko une i kam perfituar gjithe keto te mira dhe ndjehesh vertet e parehatshme ta ndjekesh dhe nuk me ben gjithmone te lumtur. Shume here eshte e veshtire te zhbehet tradita e shtypjes dhe racizmit gjinor kur une jam nje nga perfitueset me te medha.
But I'm also happy and honored to be up here and I think that it's great that I got to come before 10 or 20 or 30 years had passed and I'd had more agency in my career, because maybe then I wouldn't tell the story of how I got my first job, or maybe I wouldn't tell the story of how I paid for college, which seems so important right now.
Por gjithashtu jam e lumtur dhe e nderuar te jem ketu dhe mendoj se ishte dicka e bukur qe duhej te vija para se te kalonin 10 ose 20 ose 30 vjet dhe do kisha me shume agjensi ne karrieren time sepse ndoshta atehere nuk do mund te tregoja historine se si e fitova punen e pare ose ndoshta nuk do te tregoja historine se si pagova per kolegjin te cilat duken shume te rendesishme tani.
If there's a takeaway to this talk, I hope it's that we all feel more comfortable acknowledging the power of image in our perceived successes and our perceived failures.
Nese eshte ndonje mesazh i marre nga ky fjalim, shpresoj te jete qe ne te gjithe ndihemi me te rehatshem duke njohur fuqine e paraqitjes ne suksesin tone dhe ne deshtimin tone.
Thank you.
Faleminderit. (Duartrokitje)
(Applause)