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.
Zdravo. Zovem se Kameron Rasel i u poslednje vreme se bavim manekenstvom. Zapravo, već 10 godina. Trenutno u prostoriji osećam neprijatnu napetost
(Laughter)
jer nije trebalo da obučem ovu haljinu. (Smeh)
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.
Srećom sam ponela nešto da se presvučem. Ovo je prvo presvlačenje na TED pozornici, tako da mislim da imate sreće što ste prisutni. Ako su neke od žena bile zgrožene kada sam izašla, ne morate mi reći to sada, saznaću kasnije na Tviteru.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Primetila bih da sam prilično povlašćena jer mogu da promenim vaše mišljenje o meni za samo 10 sekundi. To ne može svako. Ove štikle su veoma neudobne, sreća pa nisam nameravala da ih nosim. Najgori deo je navlačenje ovog džempera preko glave jer ćete mi se svi tu smejati, pa nemojte raditi ništa dok mi je preko glave. U redu.
So, why did I do that? That was awkward.
Zašto sam to uradila? To je bilo čudno.
(Laughter)
Pa,
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.
nadam se ne čudno kao ova slika. Izgled je moćan, ali takođe i površan. Upravo sam totalno promenila vaše mišljenje o meni u 6 sekundi. A na ovoj slici, zapravo nikada nisam imala dečka u stvarnosti. Bilo mi je jako neprijatno, a fotograf mi je govorio da savijem leđa i stavim ruku tom čoveku u kosu. I naravno, osim operacije ili tamnog tena koji sam nabacila pre dva dana zbog posla, veoma je malo toga što možemo uraditi da promenimo izgled, a naš izgled, iako je površan i nepromenljiv, ima velik uticaj na naše živote.
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.
Za mene danas neustrašivost znači iskrenost. Na ovoj sceni sam zato što sam manekenka. Na ovoj sceni sam jer sam lepa, bela žena, a u mom poslu to zovemo seksi devojkom. Odgovoriću na pitanja koja mi često postavljaju, ali sa iskrenošću.
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.
Prvo pitanje je, kako se postaje manekenka? Uvek prvo kažem: "Ah, primetili su me", ali to ne znači ništa. Zapravo sam postala manekenka tako što sam dobila na genetskoj lutriji i primalac sam zaveštanja. Možda se pitate šta je to zaveštanje. Poslednjih nekoliko vekova lepotu smo definisali ne samo kao zdravlje i mladost i simetriju, koje smo biološki programirani da obožavamo, nego kao i visoke, vitke figure i ženstvenost i svetlu put. Ovo zaveštanje je stvoreno za mene i to je zaveštanje koje unovčavam. Znam da trenutno u publici ima ljudi koji su sada skeptični i možda ima nekih ljubitelja mode koji u sebi kažu: "Čekaj. Naomi. Tajra. Džoan Smols. Lu Ven." Prvo moram da pohvalim vaše znanje manekenstva. Impresivno.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Ali nažalost moram da vas obavestim da je 2007., veoma nadahnut doktorant njuroškog univerziteta izbrojao sve manekenke na pisti, svaku koja je zaposlena i od 677 zaposlenih manekenki, samo 27 ili manje od 4%, nisu bile belkinje.
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."
Sledeće što me uvek pitaju je: "Mogu li da postanem manekenka kad porastem?" Prvi odgovor je: "Ne znam, nisam zadužena za to." Drugi odgovor i ono što zaista želim da kažem ovim devojkama je: "Zašto? Znaš? Možeš da budeš bilo šta. Možeš biti predsednica SAD-a, izumitelj novog interneta ili nindža kardio-grudni hirurg pesnikinja, što bi bilo super jer bi bila prva u tome."
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Ako i nakon ovog sjajnog spiska još uvek kažu: "Ne, ne, Kameron, želim da se bavim manekenstvom", onda im kažem: "Budi moj šef." Jer ja nisam zadužena ni za šta i možeš biti glavna urednica američkog Voga ili direktor H&M-a ili sledeći Stiven Majzel. Reći da želiš da budeš manekenka kad porasteš slično je kao da kažeš da želiš da pobediš na lutriji kad porasteš. Nije u tvojim rukama i sjajno je i nije karijera.
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.
Sada ću vam demostrirati 10 godina prikupljenog znanja iz manekenstva, jer za razliku od kardio-grudnih hirurga, sve se može svesti na - ovaj trenutak. Ako je fotograf tamo i rasveta je tamo, neki fini reflektori i klijent kaže: "Kameron, hoćemo snimak kada hodaš", onda prvo ide ova noga, fina i duga, ova ruka ide nazad, ova ruka napred, glava je na tri četvrtine i samo se krećeš napred i nazad, samo to radiš i onda gledaš u svoje zamišljene prijatelje, 300, 400, 500 puta. (Smeh)
(Laughter)
It will look something like this.
Izgledaće otprilike ovako. (Smeh)
(Laughter)
Hopefully less awkward than that one in the middle. That was -- I don't know what happened there.
Nadajmo se manje čudno od ove srednje slike. Ne znam šta se tu desilo.
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.
Nažalost nakon što završite školu i imate rezime i uradili ste par poslova, više ne možete reći ništa i ako kažete da želite da postanete predsednica SAD-a, ali u rezimeu vam piše: "Manekenka za donji veš: 10 godina", ljudi će vas gledati čudno.
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.
Sledeće što me pitaju je: "Da li retuširaju sve slike?" I da, u principu sve slike se retuširaju, ali to je samo mali deo onoga što se dešava. Ovo je moja prva slika u životu i prvi put da sam nosila bikini, a čak nisam ni dobila prvu menstruaciju. Znam da ulazimo u intimu, ali bila sam mlada. Ovako sam izgledala sa svojom bakom samo par meseci ranije. Ovo sam ja istog dana na tom snimanju. Moja drugarica je pošla sa mnom. Ovde sam na pidžama žurci samo par dana pre snimanja za francuski Vog. Ovde sam u fudbalskom timu i u V magazinu. A ovde sam ja danas. Nadam se da vidite da ove slike nisu slike mene. To su konstrukcije, koje je načinila grupa profesionalaca, frizera i šminkera i fotografa i stilista i svih njihovih asistenata i pre-produkcije i post-produkcije i oni prave ovo. To nisam ja. Sledeće pitanje koje mi stalno postavljaju je:
Okay, so the next question people always ask me is, "Do you get free stuff?"
"Da li dobijaš stvari besplatno?"
(Laughter)
Zaista imam previše štikli od 20cm koje nikad ne nosim,
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.
osim ranije, ali besplatne stvari koje dobijam su iste one koje bih ionako dobila i ne volimo da pričamo o tome.
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.
Odrasla sam u Kembridžu i jednom sam otišla u prodavnicu i zaboravila novac i dali su mi haljinu besplatno. Kada sam bila tinejdžerka, vozila sam se s drugaricom koja je bila očajan vozač i prošla kroz crveno i naravno da su nas zaustavili i trebalo je samo reći: "Izvinite pozorniče", i nastavile smo dalje. Dobila sam ove besplatne stvari zbog svog izgleda, ne zbog toga ko sam i postoje ljudi koji plaćaju cenu zbog svog izgleda, a ne zbog toga ko su.
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.
Živim u Njujorku i prošle godine, od 140 hiljada tinejdžera koji su zaustavljeni i pretresani, 86% su bili crnci i latinoamerikanci i većina njih su bili mladi muškarci. U Njujorku ima samo 177 hiljada mladih crnaca i latinoamerikanaca, tako da za njih to nije pitanje: "Da li će me zaustaviti?", nego: "Koliko puta će me zaustaviti? Kada će me zaustaviti?" Kada sam istraživala za ovaj govor, otkrila sam da od svih američkih trinaestogodišnjakinja, 53% nije zadovoljno svojim telom i taj broj skače do 78% do sedamnaeste godine.
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.
Poslednje što me ljudi pitaju je: "Kako je to biti manekenka?" Mislim da je odgovor koji traže: "Ako si malo mršavija i imaš sjajniju kosu bićeš tako srećna i zanosna." Kada smo iza scene, damo im odgovor koji možda izgleda tako. Kažemo: "Zaista je sjajno putovati i sjajno je raditi sa kreativnim, inspirisanim, strastvenim ljudima." Te stvari su istinite, ali čine samo pola priče jer ono što nikad ne kažemo pred kamerom, što ja nikad nisam rekla pred kamerom, je: "Ja sam nesigurna." Nesigurna sam jer svakog dana moram da razmišljam o tome kako izgledam. Ako se ikada pitate: "Da imam tanje butine i sjajniju kosu, da li bih bila srećnija?" samo treba da upoznate nekoliko manekenki jer one imaju najtanje butine i najsjaniju kosu i najlepšu odeću, a pripadaju fizički najnesigurnijim ženama na svetu.
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.
Kada sam pisala ovaj govor bilo mi je teško da napravim iskrenu ravnotežu, jer u jednu ruku, bilo mi je teško da izađem ovde i kažem: "Vidite, dobila sam sve ove pogodnosti jer su mi karte bile naklonjene", i takođe je bilo teško sve to nastaviti sa, "i to me ne čini srećnom." Ali uglavnom je bilo teško odmotati zaveštanje rodnog i rasnog ugnjetavanja kada sam jedna od najvećih uživalaca.
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.
Ali takođe sam srećna i počastvovana što sam ovde i mislim da je sjajno što sam došla pre nego što je prošlo 10, 20 ili 30 godina i više agencija kroz moju karijeru jer onda možda ne bih pričala kako sam dobila prvi posao i ne bih pričala kako sam platila fakultet, što se sada čini veoma bitnim.
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.
Ako postoji pouka ovog govora, nadam se da ona glasi da nam je svima lakše da priznamo moć izgleda u našim opaženim uspesima i našim opaženim porazima.
Thank you.
Hvala vam. (Aplauz)
(Applause)