At UK Models, we obviously think modelling is a great career. It’s also a great way to boost confidence, gain independence and even to empower yourself. But what if someone told you that there was something wrong with your dream on moral grounds?

That’s exactly what happened to 21-year-old Gemma Laird who was recently told that she was essentially a bad role model for partaking in modelling photoshoots outside of her work as a teaching assistant to year 5 and 6 students.

After just one week on the job, she was called into the office at the school where she had been working and she was told she’d have to leave because she was giving off a poor impression. Despite disclosing her paid work as a lingerie model, and setting all her social media profiles to private, the school later decided that she didn’t comply with moral standards!

Why Do People Judge Models?

Models unfortunately face judgement for a number of reasons. In a lot of cases, jealousy or even a lack of understanding comes into play; people often mistakenly feel like the clothes a model wears for a job somehow reflects his or her character.

Women are often more harshly judged than men due to the prevalence of lingerie models and the fact that women have historically faced sexist judgements for their lack of clothing. Sadly, women who choose to embrace their bodies and pose with confidence come under attack, and are seen negatively by others.

There are of course some valid concerns about body positivity, body shaming, diversity and the health of models. However, this is not a fair reason to target an individual model.

It’s understandable that a school would seek to protect students. However, the the teaching assistant was behaving professionally on the job, and was keeping her modelling separate. Plus, when we look at why it’s seen as so important that she kept her modelling separate to begin with; it just seems like it’s actually worse to basically teach children to judge others for the career they have!

Why Modelling Is A Good Thing

If you’re a model, then you’re empowering yourself by deciding to love yourself. Providing you’re only doing things that you’re comfortable with, and making sure that you’re complying with laws such as age limits, there is nothing to worry about or be ashamed of. Yes, some things are inappropriate for children. However, bodies and jobs are not shameful things.

You can carve out a successful career, or simply have some fun on the side of your other job or passions. You can still get an education, and modelling doesn’t change your worth.

Thankfully, most people are happy to see models as beautiful people, and you will encounter positivity more than negativity.

Why not give it a go?

How would you feel if you found out your teacher was a model? Or if you lost your job because of your choices?