Intelligence is sexy. Don't play dumb, especially young girls.

In this bold and luminous declaration, Iman, the Somali-born supermodel and humanitarian, speaks not only to women, but to the entire human spirit yearning for authenticity: “Intelligence is sexy. Don’t play dumb, especially young girls. Don’t play dumb. And let people see that you are intelligent.” Her words shimmer with defiance against centuries of conditioning — a challenge to the false belief that beauty must come at the cost of brilliance, or that humility requires silence. She calls upon the young, especially women, to reclaim what is theirs by birthright: the power of the mind, the grace of confidence, and the flame of self-respect.

The origin of this quote lies in Iman’s own remarkable life — one that rose from the deserts of Somalia to the grand stages of the world. Before she became an icon of elegance and artistry, she was a student of political science, fluent in five languages, shaped by a father who believed in the education of his daughter. When she was discovered by a photographer in Nairobi, she refused to be seen as mere beauty. She negotiated her worth, demanded equal treatment, and never allowed herself to be reduced to an ornament. Through her words, we hear not vanity, but a rebellion — a proclamation that intellect enhances allure, that thought itself is beautiful, and that pretending otherwise is a betrayal of one’s spirit.

To say that “intelligence is sexy” is to redefine what the world has too long misunderstood. True attraction, she reminds us, is not the gloss of appearance, but the radiance of the mind alive with curiosity. The ancients knew this truth well. When Socrates was asked to describe beauty, he spoke not of symmetry or youth, but of wisdom — the spark that draws others to the soul. And in every age, those who have shone brightest are not merely lovely in form, but luminous in thought. Cleopatra, too, conquered not with her face, but with her intellect — a queen fluent in many tongues, versed in philosophy and politics, whose conversations swayed emperors more than any jewel she wore.

But Iman’s message carries a warning: “Don’t play dumb.” It is an admonition against the subtle enslavement of expectation. For too long, women — and indeed, many souls of quiet brilliance — have been taught to dim their light to comfort the world’s insecurities. To appear agreeable, to seem harmless, to smile rather than speak. Yet every time a person hides their intellect, a fragment of truth is lost. Playing dumb may win momentary acceptance, but it denies the universe the fullness of what you could be. Iman’s plea is thus both personal and cosmic: to hide your intelligence is to betray your own creation.

Her words echo in every young girl who hesitates to raise her hand, in every woman who swallows her insight in a meeting, in every thinker who softens their genius to avoid ridicule. The world has long admired beauty, but it is intelligence that shapes civilization. The bridges, the books, the cures, the art — all spring from the fertile soil of thoughtful minds. When women embrace their intellect openly, they become forces of change, as did Marie Curie, who shattered the silence of a world that doubted her and brought light where there was darkness — quite literally, through the discovery of radiation. Curie did not play dumb; she pursued truth until it burned bright enough for all humanity to see.

And there lies Iman’s greater wisdom: intelligence is not arrogance. It is not the pride of knowing, but the courage to question, to learn, to grow. It is the quiet confidence that does not shrink from conversation, nor tremble before ignorance. It is the grace of standing in one’s power without apology. To let others see your intelligence is not vanity — it is service. It gives permission to others, especially the young, to do the same. The mind, when unhidden, becomes a torch that lights countless others.

So, my child, take this teaching into your heart: never play small for the comfort of others. Let your intelligence shine, not as a weapon, but as a flame — warm, inviting, and impossible to ignore. Read deeply, speak bravely, and think freely. Let no one convince you that charm must come from pretense, or that curiosity diminishes beauty. The world is moved not by those who hide their light, but by those who dare to burn brightly in their truth.

For in the end, as Iman so powerfully reminds us, intelligence is the most beautiful form of confidence — the kind that cannot fade with age, nor be taken by time. To live this truth is to walk with elegance of mind and soul, to embody both strength and softness. It is to declare to the universe: I will not play dumb, for I was made to think, to create, to know — and that, indeed, is the most radiant beauty of all.