Iskra Lawrence is a model best known for her ‘real’ campaign with Aerie, she is ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association, not to mention her Instagram following of 2.8 million. What sets her apart from many social media stars these days is her refusal to retouch any of her pictures that she posts. She campaigns for real bodies and real beauty standards.
I’m going to be honest – I love her.
I love what she stands for; as long as you’re healthy you should embrace your body shape. She’s wonderfully refreshing compared to the rest of the airbrushed models we see everywhere because she is real, and in my opinion, that’s what we need in the modelling industry; a representation of healthy bodies.
As Iskra’s self-proclaimed no1 fan I watched her subway speech with much anticipation. I loved it! Yes, it was a little cheesy, but it was reinforcing the age-old saying ‘its what’s on the inside that counts’. Afterwards, a google search brought up the headline; ‘You didn’t have to take your clothes off to make a speech’. At first I was outraged, how dare the Daily Mail say that? She’s promoting something good. But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became.
By taking her clothes off Iskra was making a point: she was demanding the attention of the busy, uninterested commuters around her. If she had just started talking, would people have listened? Probably not. Furthermore, her speech was about body confidence and appearance so stripping down was entirely relevant. BUT, undressing directed the attention of the media to little else. The message she was trying to get across was lost in the headlines, her fight for self-love took the back seat to the fact she’d dared to take her clothes off in public. What is more upsetting is that the headlines didn’t simply say “model strips down”, but almost every single article alluded to her size.
In stripping down to her underwear, Iskra, by default, underlined the problem she was trying to address. I’m not sure she knew these size-orientated headlines would develop, but if she did, it was an excellent way of proving her point. And if she didn’t, then the media are, ironically, exemplifying themselves fantastically!
No wonder people are so worried about how they look if the stunning Iskra Lawrence can’t even talk about body image without people referring to her size. But when Emily Ratajkowski sat, stark naked, on a horse for Harper’s Bazar no one described her size or shape anywhere. What’s the difference? They both took their clothes off to make a point, and although Emily Ratajkowski did get a lot of criticism for her photos, not one headline referred to her size. I’m by no means condemning Emily Rata for her photo shoot. The interview, which accompanied the photos, was between Emily and third-wave feminist Naomi Wolf and it touched on very similar points to Iskra’s subway speech. Both women talked about how your body is your body, and how being proud of it shouldn’t make you any less respected. They’re right. But why do the headlines following Iskra have to stress her size?
Okay, so it might be slightly egotistical for two top models to preach about being confident and loving yourself. Because, its not as easy as that. Iskra has been struggling over the past 13 years; with the modelling industry claiming she was too big to be a model, and not big enough to be a plus sized model. Only now has she finally found enough confidence to share her story. So, good on her! She won’t change the mind-set of society single handed, but at least she’s making a start.
The ‘subway speech’ was by no means ground-breaking, if she hadn’t taken her clothes off, I doubt anyone would’ve looked up from their phone to even begin to listen. But it got people’s attention, it got people talking, and it allowed her platform to grow a little bigger. By using social media to get her speech out there, by not retouching any of her own Instagram posts, and by using her Snapchat to show that; yes, she eats, but she also exercises, she’s trying her best to change people’s outlook on themselves.
At the end of the day, if she’s happy I’m sure she doesn’t care what the Daily Mail think of her. And, if you’ve read all of this but you’re yet to watch the speech… I’ve linked it below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO_fdvoH-KE
Image 1- http://www.self.com/story/watch-iskra-lawrences-psa-as-she-strips-to-her…
Image 2 and 3- screenshots.