Gigi Hadid Uses Social Media To Prove ‘Dumb Model Stereotype’ Isn’t Always True


Models are commonly deemed as “merely pretty faces” as they rely on their appearances to secure contracts. Gigi Hadid is thankful that through social media, she is able to show the world her personality and prove that she has more to offer than her looks. She told Mashable that the stereotype about models is starting to crumble because of social media.

“We’ve just been given a gift as a generation of being able to show our own personality and have so much control over the person we are to the public, and not just being a face on a page. I think social media has taken the dumb model stereotype away.”

While fashion pillars Calvin Klein and Rebecca Romijn are heedful of “Instagram models” who use social media to flaunt their so-called superstar status, Gigi uses Cindy Crawford as an example of someone who knows how to empower using the tool.

Renowned fashion designer Klein recently expressed his disapproval for the company’s decision to get Kendall Jenner for the #MyCalvins campaign. According to the 73-year-old, models are now paid for the number of followers that they have on social media, and not for the way they represent the designer and the label.

Romijn also implied that a person’s number of followers doesn’t always translate to revenue. She said that social media stars “are not true supermodels” and that many “legitimate fashion people” share the same opinion.

Being a model is not the only reason why Gigi receives constant hate on the internet. When she started dating Zayn Malik, Gigi found herself dealing with some of the British crooner’s fans who didn’t like the new romance.

gigi hadid zayn malik dating
Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik attend the “Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology” Costume Institute Gala (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Huffington Post)

Eight months ago, she decided to write something that thoroughly expressed her stand. Her piece was aimed at people who criticized her looks. She told the publication that writing is her outlet for pent-up emotions.

“I love writing to get emotion off my chest. I let things go the second I write them down. That honestly was a journal entry that I thought a lot of people in my industry would relate to.”

Gigi maintains close friendship with several models including Jenner and Cara Delevingne who are also constantly judged for various reasons.

For young women who are doubting their self-worth because of the things they are seeing on social media, Gigi has a message.

“Just realizing how it’s not real, how none of it’s real. If all technology just shut down today, all of those comment feeds would just be nothing so you have to your own strength regardless of that stuff and try and find yourself without that stuff.”

When she’s not in the limelight, Gigi remains a normal person. During a cameo on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Secrets Revealed, her passion was made known to fans. In the episode, Gigi was with her mother Yolanda and stepfather David Foster. Family friend Erika Girardi and her lawyer husband Tom visited the family.

David told the couple that criminal psychology was “the road she was heading down and then she got sidetracked by this little thing called supermodeling.” Gigi added that she wanted to study in a university simply because she wanted to learn.

“I don’t know if I would ever want to practice. For me, I realised the reason I wanted to be in university was because I loved being in class and I loved being part of a conversation and learning about it. Not necessarily that I want to be a criminal psychologist, I just liked it.”

While Gigi remains unsure about college, her mother believes that she is capable of trying in the future. Tom offered to accompany Gigi to a courthouse, an idea the Victoria’s Secret model fancied.

[Image via Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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