If there's one quality we admire in a woman, it's courage - Not being afraid to speak your mind, even when you know that what you have to say might be unpopular or uncomfortable. After all, these are the kind of conversations that kick-start change. It's this kind of courage that model Cameron Russell has in spades. This lady first veered onto our radar after a stonking TED Talk that she gave in 2014 entitled 'Looks Aren't Everything - Believe Me, I'm A Model,’ which dispelled a lot of idealistic views of the modelling industry and showed just how much photos of her were altered in magazines. We then realised this was the same Cameron Russell who'd walked the runways for Marc Jacobs and appeared in French Vogue, and we started to sit up straight.
This week Cameron opened up about her body once more, this time to Self Magazine saying 'I have the same chicken legs as my 88-year-old grandmother, so really, I think it's genetic." Quick to point out that there are no short-cuts to a model body, Cameron took the opportunity to remind women that you're born with the shape you have.
Going on to explain that she initially saw modelling as a part time job, Cameron told the magazine, "They start paying you and you're like, 'Whoa this is way better than babysitting.' Cameron's a Columbia graduate who completed a thesis on public art and political power before becoming a model - how's that for beauty and brains? Cameron added that while she does feel 'extremely privileged' to meet society's exacting beauty standards, she's more content in 'those moments when I don't have to think about how I look.'
We salute Cameron for being bold enough to open up so candidly, and for her continued campaigning for more transparency in the industry. Cameron also pointed out that she finds it odd that so many people turn to her for social commentary, when 'I'm quite young, I don't have an impressive resume. We can't just pay attention to women who look fantastic in a photograph, because there are a lot of people that have fantastic things to say that don't look like 25-year-old, white models.' Hear hear.