Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

4 reviews

gmoneyyyyy's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Body shaming

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Suicide attempt

arthur_ant18's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

ntvenessa's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

2.5

Fascinating and incisive, but doesn't push quite far enough. Ratajkowski distills so well what it means to capitalise off your image by leveraging the male gaze. There are power dynamics and tension underlying her relationship with her own body as a result of selling her image in a landscape where beauty is defined by a white, cis-hetero patriarchy. This collection of essays is deeply personal and generous, although the temporal context is sometimes confusing to follow. There does some to be a deliberate shying away from what her work means to other women, especially young girls, who are subject to the beauty standards she reinforces. This shortsightedness is laid in stark contrast with the tenacity and heart found unmistakably in the rest of her essays, particularly in her evolving relationship with her body in the context of feminism and empowerment. I really enjoyed the tender and wise reflections on her youth and how mixed messaging around her body impacted how she saw herself. However, it seems a shame not to explore further how she herself is complicit in upholding the beauty standards that have both trapped her and lent her power (although as she writes, it is only power as bestowed on her by men and not true empowerment). I suppose when you are still capitalising off the very same system, it pays to flirt around these broader notions and keep the narrative tightly focused on the matter at hand -- and she does it well. I'd be keen to see a memoir after she leaves the industry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Colonisation, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Fatphobia

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Addiction, and Suicide attempt

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