We discuss a Ted Talk given by Cameron Russel, entitled: "Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model."

How does the way a person looks affect the way you think about them?

How do you use personal style to control the way you are perceived?

What does it mean to be a model, today? Do you have to be represented by an agency? What about Instagram Influencers? Do they count as models? Where do you draw a line around what it means to be a model in the age of social media.

What matters more? Looks or confidence? Russel talks about having won a "genetic lottery" and explains how she feels about being a beneficiary of a legacy of valuing a certain aesthetic.

Can anyone be a model? What does it take? 

A model is an important part of a creative team that makes marketing materials for businesses. When we respect the work that a model does, when we focus on what they bring to the task of making compelling fashion photography, when we start to think about a model as an artist instead of just an attractive body, then we will start to crack open the narrow halls of conventional marketing to create a more interesting world full of diversity and fun. All kinds of different people are sexy and cool and when we begin to change our minds about beauty, fashion and art, then we will inherit a richer world.