This girl is too cheap! Why does this guy have an earring? What kind of fashion sense is this? This girl’s dress is too revealing?
I can’t recall how many times I’ve judged people based on their appearance and actions; based on my convictions and religious beliefs. I’m sure you’ve also had your share of judging people because they do not eat or dress as you do, share your beliefs or morals, or conduct themselves in the way you would want them. I’m certain that the ‘judged’ has also had an opportunity to pass judgment (This person doesn’t know ‘wasup,’ some say).
In fact, nobody is innocent in the game of judgment. What is human without judgment? Even as Christians, we believe that the almighty God will judge us one day.
Earl Nightingale, an American radio speaker and author, once said, “When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.”
Our ability to define ourselves is evidence of the freedom we have as humans. The freedom to choose who we want to be and what we want to represent. For model Adeline, modeling is her “sense of freedom.” Your judgment doesn’t define who she is.
I know you have your reservations about models; I do too. The general perception is that modeling has now become a form “of prostitution for some girls.” When she shows skin, then all the men around her have had their way with her. You would think, why would such a beautiful girl show her ‘idealness’ to the world? What kind of confidence does she possess? what kind of symbol is she portraying about women? Oh, she’s just contributing to the sexual objectification of women. Trust me, such many thoughts my mind has bred occasionally when I see models reveal their bodies. But, is there more to the person who has become the new beauty standard? Is there more to the girl branded as sexy? All these questions in my mind moved me to have a conversation with one of Ghana’s iconic supermodels, Adeline Thompson.
For those of you who are scared to do what you love, you can find inspiration from Adeline. She remembers waking up one day and “having that spontaneous idea to just pursue something that I fancied when I was growing up. I’ve seen people in adverts, I’ve seen people on billboards, I’ve seen magazines, and I’d always tell myself that I can also do some. It was more of an impromptu idea that has grown into what it has become today.” If we all could just easily act on our thoughts or wishes, imagine how happy some people will be. Yes! Some.
Little did she know that there was thinking about something and actually doing it. She’s been in the modeling business for two years now and as we all know, the beginning of ‘something’ is the most difficult part. She didn’t make money for the first year, and “anybody in my shoes would have given up, but I decided to grow my portfolio, grow my skills, learn about the ropes of the business better. Thankfully, all that began to pay off. It was difficult for me because I was not in an agency. I decided not to join an agency after I was rejected by five of them. It wasn’t their fault, I didn’t do a lot of research into the requirements of joining an agency but I think that rejection is what made me want to go on my own, and I can say that I’m much better off on my own than with an agency.”
For Adeline, another difficult experience in her line of work is “trying to convince African parents that you’re not doing pornography.” The first 8 months rested on reinforcing the fact she wasn’t sleeping with anyone on the set. It took a while to convince her parent. Her dad finally saw the fruit of her labor upon receiving her first salary of 500 Ghana cedis. “He was really impressed because his time wasn’t like that. You can’t just get up one day and say that you want to show a little bit of skin in front of cameras. And it’s a little difficult that your daughter is going out there and you’re not there with her, and you see her coming home with money. All these thoughts will go through your head. I don’t blame them, but I’m glad that they’ve accepted it much better than when I started.”
Her first bikini shot met the question: are you sure it’s safe? From her father. But it only ignited her to prove that she got something good going on. As a woman, it takes a lot of courage to show the world just the way you are as God created you. Adeline is more confident working in lingerie and bikini, and when she says that people look at her “weirdly.” “Aren’t you African? Didn’t you grow up in an African home? Why are you showing skin? I’ve dealt with a lot of criticism from people. I’ve had people come to my comment section with the God loves you, cover your breast things on Instagram when I first started. At the same time, I had people coming to tell me that hey, I see potential; you have a long way to go. In the beginning, I was skeptical because I had not done this before. the only time I was naked was in my bedroom and in the shower, but this time I’d have to show more skin with a group of people in a room- my artist, photographer, stylist, everybody will be there. They will see you doing all these poses. My first one was scary for me, but I always had someone go in with me to the shoot; just for safety reasons and to give me that confidence boost.”
Even with her level of body confidence, there are days she feels “ugly.” “Everybody has those days where you wake up and you feel like you’re not looking exactly like yourself but there’s a certain confidence that working out of those state of mind brings you. It’s always nice to see myself rise up above those low self-esteem to be the best self that I can be. There are days that the makeup is done, the photographers are checking the lights, and I’m sitting down and wondering: who sent me? But at the same time, I get on the set and realize why I’m there. It’s not because I want to show my body. It’s a sense of freedom, it’s an act. It makes you take on the personality of another person. On a normal day, I’ll be covered up completely. But on set, I’m this sexy goddess, and it’s really nice.”
We all have conflicts within ourselves about who we are, sometimes. Well, she does have conflicts within her that which one is actually “me.”
Maintaining such a unique and physically demanding brand brings about some pressure to keep up with the looks and body shape, but Adeline does not leave any room for pressure to breathe. She’s not afraid to show every side of her; with and without makeup. Her goal is to be noticed in Africa and worldwide but mostly in Africa, and she would love to work with people in the model industry who reside in Nigeria.
For all the ‘negative’ comments thrown her way, she does well to tune them out and focuses on her goals.
You would think that as a young, beautiful, and talented girl, she should find love easy but with her line of work, it comes with its difficulties. A situation she clearly understands. She quickly blocks men who try to make sexual advances because of what they see, “I don’t waste time on people like that. I just block because I won’t let you define what I am to me. The fact that you see my thighs over there doesn’t mean you will have them wrapped around your body. It’s rather difficult to get into a romantic relationship because you feel like everybody is coming for your body. I did have a partner that I was into but we didn’t break up because of that. We had a little issue. He didn’t understand why I was choosing that line of work and I didn’t understand why he didn’t want me to choose what I wanted to do because we weren’t married. And I understand that everybody has their reservations about the work, but if you can’t accept that this is what I want to do, you can go. But he didn’t. We broke up over something different. After that, it’s been difficult to get someone who is there not because of your body but because of your personality; what they feel when they’re around you and who they are when they’re with you.”
If you’re wondering whether there’s more to Adeline the model, she’s also a public speaker, she won the Kasanufo Public Speaking and Training Contests earlier this year (2023). She’s also a writer, a cook, “loves sleeping, loves anime, movies, and Adeline is a child at heart.”
I side with Adeline when she says “Everybody has their reservations about the work.” But before you judge a person base on their profession, before you define yourself through them, know that they are humans as you are, but just different. When you want someone to share your morals or religious beliefs, get to know them first and learn how to craft your message.
