Multi-faceted supermodel, actress, and now accomplished writer Emily Ratajkowski recently released a book of essays titled, My Body which addresses the limitations of being a woman and the commodifications that accompany female sexuality.
The book contemplates the transactional nature of the modeling industry and seeks to confront the “gray area” between consent and abuse, as well as the intersection between beauty and power, promoting an unguarded approach and honest discourse regarding her experiences with the fetishization of women.
Ratajkowski recounts in her book occurrences such as her acceptance of $25,000 from a billionaire to join him at the Super Bowl and her vacation to the Maldives sponsored by a “super-rich guy from Qatar” who allegedly paid her a “shit ton.” From her appearance in Robin Thicke’s music video, “Blurred Lines” to her role as Andy in the film “Gone Girl” whose casting called for someone “whom men were obsessed with, and women hated,” they found Ratajkowski to be the perfect fit. As someone who has continually been a source of artistic exploration, she often found her journey of the self somewhat alienating—eventually landing at a turning point in identity as she began the process of embodying her sexuality as her own.
“Women who gained power from beauty were indebted to the men whose desire granted them that power in the first place.”
In a recent interview for Elle with renowned author of Three Women and Animal, Lisa Taddeo, Ratajkowski accounts for her interest “in capturing the nuance that comes with wanting male validation,” referencing Taddeo’s book Three Women. She underlines the dangers of being “complicit” and palpably confesses to her previous attempts to win a man’s attention. She addresses the battle women often face between wanting revenge on a man or “to burn this motherfucker to the ground,” though concludes that the solution can be found through “balance.”
Before My Body‘s release, Ratajkowski launched a self-written essay entitled, Buying Myself Back, which posed the crucial question of “when does a model own her own image?” She details her negative experience working with photographer Jonathan Leder and accounts for the numerous struggles she has encountered on her journey of reclaiming her image.
View this post on Instagram