Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

5 reviews

jraspatella's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book of essays really resonated with me. I felt myself thinking about past experiences with a more observant lens. To be honest it took me a long time to read this book. I was always interested in its premise, but that niggling of internalized misogyny kept me from pursuing buying my own copy. How could someone as beautiful, who seems to relish in commodifying  their own body have anything to say about the female experience when they’ve benefited so strongly from the patriarchy.  A women’s worth is so often based on commodifying the parts of herself most palatable to the outside world. We are taught at such a young age that people expect women to be polite, interesting, “lady-like”, but just sexy enough to keep a man interested enough to either give them the opportunity to succeed, or marry them. This felt like a mirror. It doesn’t matter what walk of life we come from, how famous, or how pretty we are; we as women are all united in a world built to take from us. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders

lil_owl_reads's review

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape

Minor: Self harm

citrinuke's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship

leduyhxxng's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

3.0

My body is a valiant effort towards loving by Emily Ratajkowski—loving her body, and by such means opening more constructive dialogues with her self.

In the twelve very personal essays, we can begin to see Emily's stories and the power dynamics that shape modelling. Yet her writing feels rather erratic, sparse in some places and rushed in others, failing at times to connect the thematic thread that Emily herself set out. This is most unfortunate because there are unquestioningly a lot of details and images—beautifully brought out in the essay collection—that feel particularly powerful in the context of her story, but were never adequately explored.

I admire Emily's effort to love through the writing of My Body. My two favourite essays are 'Pamela' and 'Releases'. They were brilliantly written (especially 'Releases,' the final essay of the book), and feel vulnerable and honest. Other essays either feel like the honesty is somehow choking her, the writing indelicate and forced thus choking us as readers, or throwing suppressed anger at other people (which makes it quite awkward to read). But the vulnerability makes you stay, and love Emily Ratajkowski even more for taking the step.

I was fairly let down by both the writing and storytelling of the book. Then again, I greatly admire the effort to find love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Blood, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

cpete's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexism

Moderate: Rape and Sexual content

Minor: Self harm and Sexual violence