Do you want to be behind the camera, or in front?

i have been pondering lately..
someone said to me that i need to be able to be the person behind the camera and look the part.
he somehow implied that if you are behind the camera, it's has to be the un-glam person, the willing to get into the dirt kind. i wonder so.
i am not either, in front of it or behind the lens.
the thing is, i am often awkward in front of the camera, especially alone. i think about how the camera will see right through me.