Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. | Cameron Russell | TED

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Hysen Muja Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

Hi. My name is Cameron Russell,

Pershendetje, emri im eshte Cameron Rusell

and for the last little while, I've been a model.

dhe per pak kohe

kam qene modele.

Actually, for 10 years.

ne fakt prej 10 vjetesh.

And I feel like

Kam pershtypjen qe egziston nje tension i sikletshem

there's an uncomfortable tension in the room right now

ne salle ne kete moment

because I should not have worn this dress.

sepse nuk duhej te kisha veshur kete fustan. (Te qeshura)

(Laughter)

Per fat te mire kam sjelle dicka per tu ndryshuar.

So luckily, I brought an outfit change.

This is the first outfit change on the TED stage,

Ky do te jete ndryshimi i pare i veshjes ne skenen e TED,

so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think.

keshtu qe ju jeni me fat te jeni deshmitare te kesaj skene.

If some of the women were really horrified when I came out,

Nese disa nga femrat do te tmerrohen mbasi te mbaroj,

you don't have to tell me now, but I'll find out later on Twitter.

nuk keni pse te me tregoni tani se do ta zbuloj me vone ne twitter.

(Te qeshura)

(Laughter)

I'd also note that I'm quite privileged

Dua te shenoj qe jam disi e privilegjuar

to be able to transform what you think of me

qe jam gjendje te transformoj ate cfare mendoni per mua

in a very brief 10 seconds.

ne nje kohe prej 10 sekondash.

Not everybody gets to do that.

Jo gjithkush mund ta arrije kete.

These heels are very uncomfortable, so good thing I wasn't going to wear them.

Keto taka jane shume te parehatshme,

gje e mire pasi nuk do i vishja.

The worst part is putting this sweater over my head,

Pjesa me e veshtire eshte kalimi i trikos mbi koken time,

sepse pikerisht ne kete moment do qeshnit me mua,

because that's when you'll all laugh at me,

keshtu qe mos beni asgje sa eshte mbi koken time.

so don't do anything while it's over my head.

Bukur

All right.

Perse e bera gjithe kete?

So, why did I do that?

That was awkward.

Ishte e veshtire

(Laughter)

bukur

Well --

(Laughter)

Hopefully not as awkward as that picture.

per fat jo aq e veshtire sa kjo

Image is powerful,

Imazhi eshte fuqi,

but also, image is superficial.

por gjithashtu imazhi eshte siperfaqesor.

I just totally transformed what you thought of me, in six seconds.

Une arrita te transformoj cka ju mendonit per mua ne 6 sekonda.

And in this picture,

Dhe ne kete fotografi,

I had actually never had a boyfriend in real life.

ne fakt une nuk kam patur kurre nje te dashur ne jeten reale

I was totally uncomfortable,

isha komplet ne siket, dhe fotografi

and the photographer was telling me to arch my back

me kerkonte ti jepja hark shpines and te fusja duart e mia

and put my hand in that guy's hair.

ne floket e atij djali.

And of course, barring surgery,

Dha padyshim, pervec oeracionit,

or the fake tan that I got two days ago for work,

ose nxirjes fallso qe bera para dy ditesh per pune,

there's very little that we can do to transform how we look,

jane te pakta gjerat qe mund te bejme per te transformuar si dukemi

and how we look, though it is superficial and immutable,

dhe paraqitja e jashtme edhe pse siperfaqesore dhe e pandryshueshme,

has a huge impact on our lives.

ka nje impakt te madh ne jeten sone.

So today, for me, being fearless means being honest.

Keshte qe sot, per mua, te qenit pa frike do te thote e ndershme.

And I am on this stage because I am a model.

Dhe jam ne kete skene sepse jam modele.

I am on this stage because I am a pretty, white woman,

Jam ne kete skene sepse jam nje femer e bardhe dhe e bukur,

and in my industry, we call that a sexy girl.

dhe ne industrime time ne e quajme nje femer sexi.

I'm going to answer the questions that people always ask me,

Dhe do ti pergjigjem pyetjes qe njerezit me bejne gjithmone,

por me te verteten.

but with an honest twist.

So the first question is, how do you become a model?

Pyetja e pare eshte, si u bera nje modele?

I always just say, "Oh, I was scouted,"

Dhe une gjithmone thoja, "Oh, isha nje zbulim," por kjo nuk do te thote asgje.

but that means nothing.

The real way that I became a model

Rruga e vertete me te cilen u bera modele eshte

is I won a genetic lottery, and I am the recipient of a legacy,

fitova nje llotari gjenetike, dhe jam trashegimtare e ligjshme

and maybe you're wondering what is a legacy.

dhe ndoshta ju jeni kureshtar se cfare trashegimie.

Well, for the past few centuries

Per shekujt e fundit

we have defined beauty not just as health and youth

ne kemi perfituar bukuri jo thjesht si shendet dhe rini

and symmetry that we're biologically programmed to admire,

dhe faktin qe jemi te programuara biologjikisht per tu admiruar,

but also as tall, slender figures,

por gjithashtu si te shtatlarta, figura fine

and femininity and white skin.

dhe feminilitet dhe lekure te bardhe.

And this is a legacy that was built for me,

Dhe kjo eshte nje trashegimi qe eshte ndertuar enkas per mua,

dhe eshte nje trashegimi nga e cila une kam perfituar.

and it's a legacy that I've been cashing out on.

And I know there are people in the audience

Dhe di qe ka persona ne audience

who are skeptical at this point,

qe jane skeptike ne kete pike,

and maybe there are some fashionistas who are like,

dhe ndoshta jane disa fashonista, si,

"Wait. Naomi. Tyra. Joan Smalls. Liu Wen."

"Wait. Naomi. Tyra. Joan Smalls. Liu Wen."

And first, I commend you on your model knowledge. Very impressive.

E para ju pergezoj mbi njohurite tuaja mbi modelet. Shume impresive.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

But unfortunately, I have to inform you that in 2007,

Por per fat te keq duhet t'iu informoj ju se ne 2007,

a very inspired NYU Ph.D. student

nje student Ph.D. shume i inspiruar i NYU numeroi

counted all the models on the runway, every single one that was hired,

te gjitha modelet ne piste, cdo njeren prej tyre qe u punesua,

and of the 677 models that were hired,

dhe nga te 677 modelet e punesuara,

only 27, or less than four percent, were non-white.

vetem 27 ose me pak se 4 % ishin jo te bardha.

The next question people always ask is,

Pyetja tjeter qe njerezit me bejne gjithmone eshte

"Can I be a model when I grow up?"

"A mund te behem nje modele kur te rritem?"

And the first answer is, "I don't know, they don't put me in charge of that."

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"?

But the second answer,

and what I really want to say to these little girls is,

"Why? You know? You can be anything.

E di cfare? Ti mund te behesh gjithcka.

You could be the President of the United States,

Mund te behesh presidente e Shteteve te Bashkuara te Amerikes,

or the inventor of the next Internet,

ose shpikesi i internetit te ardhshem

ose nje nixha kardio-thoratic kirurg poet,

or a ninja cardiothoracic surgeon poet,

which would be awesome, because you'd be the first one."

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,

Dhe nese pas kesaj liste te gjate do te thone,

"No, no, Cameron, I want to be a model,"

"Jo,jo Cameron, dua te behem nje modele"

atehere do ti thoja "Behu drejtoresha ime"

well, then I say, "Be my boss."

Because I'm not in charge of anything,

Sepse une nuk vendos asgje,

dhe mund te behesh kryeeditori i American Vogue

and you could be the editor in chief of American Vogue

ose CEO i H&M, ose Steven Meisel i ardhshem.

or the CEO of H&M, or the next Steven Meisel.

Saying that you want to be a model when you grow up

Duke thene qe deshiron te behesh modele kur te rritesh

is akin to saying that you want to win the Powerball when you grow up.

eshte njesoj si te thuash deshiron te fitosh llotarine kur te rritesh.

Eshte jashte kontrollit tuaj, dhe eshte fantastike

It's out of your control, and it's awesome,

and it's not a career path.

dhe nuk eshte nje rruge per karriere.

I will demonstrate for you now 10 years of accumulated model knowledge,

Do demostroj per ju nje dije te akumuluar ne 10 vjet si modele,

because unlike cardiothoracic surgeons,

sepse ne ndryshim me kirurgun kardio-thoracic,

it can just be distilled right now.

mund te demostrohet menjehere, qe tani.

So, if the photographer is right there,

Nese fotografi eshte pikerisht atje

the light is right there, like a nice HMI,

dhe drita eshte pikerisht ketu,si nje HMI e kendshme

and the client says, "We want a walking shot,"

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

this leg goes first, nice and long, this arm goes back, this arm goes forward,

koka eshte pak lart,dhe ti shkon poshte e lart

the head is at three quarters, and you just go back and forth,

vazhdon ta ribesh dhe shikon pas tek shoku imagjinar

just do that, and then you look back at your imaginary friends,

300, 400, 500 here. (Te qeshura)

300, 400, 500 times.

(Laughter)

It will look something like this.

Do jete dicka si kjo.

(Laughter)

Hopefully less awkward than that one in the middle.

Ndoshta me pak i pakendshem se ai i mesit.

That was -- I don't know what happened there.

Ishte sikur, nuk e di se cfare ndodhi.

Unfortunately, after you've gone to school,

Per fat te keq pasi shkoni ne shkolle

and you have a résumé and you've done a few jobs,

dhe pasi te keni nje rezyme dhe te keni bere disa pune,

nuk mund te thoni asgje me shume

you can't say anything anymore,

dhe nese thoni qe kerkoni te beheni presidenti i Shteteve te Bashkuara

so if you say you want to be the President of the United States,

por rezymeja juaj thote,:"modele per veshje te brendshme:10 vjet"

but your résumé reads, "Underwear Model: 10 years,"

njerezit do t'ju veshtrojne me ironi.

people give you a funny look.

Pyetja tjeter te cilen me pyesin gjithmone eshte,:"A i perpunojne te gjitha fotografite?"

The next question is, "Do they retouch all the photos?"

And yeah, they pretty much retouch all the photos,

Dhe po, pak a shume te gjitha fotografite perpunohen,

por ky eshte nje detaj i vogel ai asaj qe ndodh.

but that is only a small component of what's happening.

Kjo eshte fotografia e para qe kam bere,

This picture is the very first picture that I ever took,

dhe eshte hera e pare qe kam veshur nje bikini,

and it's also the very first time that I had worn a bikini,

and I didn't even have my period yet.

edhe akoma nuk me kishin filluar periodat.

I know we're getting personal, but I was a young girl.

E kuptoj qe jane gjera personale, por

une isha nje vajze e re.

This is what I looked like with my grandma just a few months earlier.

Keshtu dukesha disa muaj me pare me gjyshen time.

Ja ku jam ne te njejten dite ne kete shkrepje.

Here's me on the same day as this shoot.

My friend got to come.

Shoqja ime duhej te vinte me mua.

Here's me at a slumber party a few days before I shot French Vogue.

Ketu jam ne nje feste pizhamesh pak dite para fotove per French Vogue.

Here's me on the soccer team and in V Magazine.

Ja ku jam me skuandren e futbollit dhe ne revisten V.

And here's me today.

Dhe ja ku jam sot.

And I hope what you're seeing

Dhe shpresoj qe te kuptoni qe

is that these pictures are not pictures of me.

keto fotografi nuk jane fotografite e mia.

They are constructions,

Keta jane perpunime,

and they are constructions by a group of professionals,

dhe jane perpunime nga nje grup profesionistesh,

by hairstylists and makeup artists and photographers and stylists

nga parukiere dhe artiste makjazhi dhe fotograf dhe stiliste

and all of their assistants and pre-production and post-production,

dhe nga gjithe asistentet e tyre dhe parapunime e paspunime

dhe ata ndertuan kete. Kjo nuk jam une.

and they build this.

That's not me.

Okay, so the next question people always ask me is,

Pyetja tjeter te cilen gjithmone me pyesin eshte,

"A merr gjera falas?"

"Do you get free stuff?"

(Laughter)

I do have too many 8-inch heels which I never get to wear,

Kam shume kepuce me taka 8 inc te cilat nuk i vesh kurre,

except for earlier,

pervecse me heret,

but the free stuff that I get is the free stuff that I get in real life,

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.

and that's what we don't like to talk about.

Jam rritur ne Cambridge

I grew up in Cambridge,

and one time I went into a store and I forgot my money

dhe njehere u futa ne nje dyqan por kisha harruar parate

and they gave me the dress for free.

dhe ata me dhuruan nje fustan falas.

When I was a teenager, I was driving with my friend

Kur kam qene adoleshente,isha ne makine bashke me nje shoqe

who was an awful driver and she ran a red and of course,

e cila ishte nje shofere shume e keqe dhe kaloi me te kuqe dhe patjeter

qe u ndaluam

we got pulled over,

and all it took was a "Sorry, officer," and we were on our way.

dhe u desh vetem te thonim "Oficer, na fal"

dhe keshtu shpetuam.

And I got these free things because of how I look,

Dhe arrita keto 3 gjera gratis nga aparenca ime

not who I am, and there are people paying a cost

dhe jo nga cila jam, dhe ka njerez qe paguajne

for how they look and not who they are.

per shkak te aparences dhe jo per shkak se cilet jane.

I live in New York, and last year,

Une jetoj ne New York dhe vitin e kaluar

of the 140,000 teenagers that were stopped and frisked,

nga 140 000 adoleshente te ndaluar e kontrolluar

86% of them were black and Latino, and most of them were young men.

86 % prej tyre ishin me Ngjyre ose Latin

dhe shumica e tyre ishin djem te rinj.

And there are only 177,000 young black and Latino men in New York,

Dhe ka gjithsej 177 000 djem me ngjyre dhe Latin ne New York

so for them, it's not a question of, "Will I get stopped?"

dhe per ta eshte e pakuptimte pyetja "A do ndalohem"

but "How many times will I get stopped? When will I get stopped?"

por "Sa here do te ndalohem?" "Kur do ndalohem?"

When I was researching this talk,

Kur po kerkoja material per kete fjalim

arrita te konstatoja se nga vajzat 13 vjecare ne Shtetet e Bashkuara te Amerikes

I found out that of the 13-year-old girls in the United States,

53% don't like their bodies,

53 % nuk pelqejne trupin e tyre,

and that number goes to 78% by the time that they're 17.

dhe kjo perqindje shkon ne 78 per moshen 17 vjecare.

Pyetja e fundit te cilen me pyesin eshte

So, the last question people ask me is,

"What is it like to be a model?"

"Si eshte te jesh nje modele?"

And I think the answer that they're looking for is,

Dhe mendoj se pergjigja te cilen kerkojne eshte

"If you are a little bit skinnier and you have shinier hair,

"Nese je pak e lezecme dhe nese ke floke te shndritshem"

you will be so happy and fabulous."

do jesh e lumtur dhe e mrekullueshme."

And when we're backstage,

Dhe kur jemi ne prapaskene, japin nje pergjigje

we give an answer that maybe makes it seem like that.

qe ndoshta do ngjasonte ne kete menyre

Ne themi "Eshte vertete e mrekullueshme te shetisesh,

We say, "It's really amazing to travel, and it's amazing to get to work

eshte e mrekullueshme te shkosh ne pune njerez me kreativitet, te inspiruar dhe apasionante"

with creative, inspired, passionate people."

And those things are true, but they're only one half of the story,

Te gjitha keto jane te verteta por jane vetem gjysma e historise

because the thing that we never say on camera,

sepse gjeja e vetme qe nuk themi para kameras

that I have never said on camera, is,

qe nuk kam thene asnjehere para kameras

"I am insecure."

eshte "Jam e pasigurte"

And I'm insecure because I have to think about what I look like every day.

Jam e pasigurte pasi me duhet te mendoj

se si dukem cdo dite.

Dhe nese ndonjehere do pyesni veten

And if you ever are wondering,

"If I have thinner thighs and shinier hair, will I be happier?"

"Nese kam kembe me te holla dhe floke me te shndritshem, a do jem me e lumtur?"

you just need to meet a group of models,

ju mjafton te takoni nje grup modelesh

because they have the thinnest thighs, the shiniest hair and the coolest clothes,

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.

and they're the most physically insecure women probably on the planet.

When I was writing this talk,

Kur po pergatisja kete fjalim,ishte shume e veshtire

I found it very difficult to strike an honest balance,

te vendosja nje balance te drejte sepse ne nje ane

because on the one hand,

ishte shume e parehatshme te dilja ketu e te thoja

I felt very uncomfortable to come out here and say,

"Look I've received all these benefits from a deck stacked in my favor,"

Shiko une i kam perfituar gjithe keto te mira

dhe ndjehesh vertet e parehatshme ta ndjekesh

and it also felt really uncomfortable to follow that up with,

dhe nuk me ben gjithmone te lumtur.

"and it doesn't always make me happy."

But mostly it was difficult to unpack a legacy of gender and racial oppression

Shume here eshte e veshtire te zhbehet tradita

e shtypjes dhe racizmit gjinor

when I am one of the biggest beneficiaries.

kur une jam nje nga perfitueset me te medha.

Por gjithashtu jam e lumtur dhe e nderuar te jem ketu

But I'm also happy and honored to be up here

and I think that it's great that I got to come

dhe mendoj se ishte dicka e bukur qe duhej te vija

before 10 or 20 or 30 years had passed and I'd had more agency in my career,

para se te kalonin 10 ose 20 ose 30 vjet dhe do kisha me shume agjensi ne karrieren time

because maybe then I wouldn't tell the story of how I got my first job,

sepse ndoshta atehere nuk do mund te tregoja historine se si e fitova punen e pare

or maybe I wouldn't tell the story of how I paid for college,

ose ndoshta nuk do te tregoja historine se si pagova per kolegjin

which seems so important right now.

te cilat duken shume te rendesishme tani.

If there's a takeaway to this talk,

Nese eshte ndonje mesazh i marre nga ky fjalim, shpresoj te jete qe

I hope it's that we all feel more comfortable acknowledging

ne te gjithe ndihemi me te rehatshem duke njohur

the power of image in our perceived successes

fuqine e paraqitjes ne suksesin tone

and our perceived failures.

dhe ne deshtimin tone.

Thank you.

Faleminderit. (Duartrokitje)

(Applause)