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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
It was interesting to read essays from someone in the industry. I think we all have perceptions of people we see on social media and tv and it clouds our judgment. I can be honest and say that I wasn’t expecting much from these essays but they were interesting to read. It’s also disheartening at times to read about her experiences especially when it came to men.
These essays weren’t mind blowing and they could have been a bit better organized but overall I did enjoy this.
These essays weren’t mind blowing and they could have been a bit better organized but overall I did enjoy this.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I truly still enjoy this book so much! Emily Ratajkowski knows how to tell her life's story in an engaging and thoughtful manner. Even though we are nothing alike, I could really relate to some musings about the female body, comparison, and fears being a woman.
Also, definitely listen to the audio book she narrates it herself!
Also, definitely listen to the audio book she narrates it herself!
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
(NB: I'm very candid about my feelings towards this book in this review, and I know that not everyone will agree with what I say. However, I do point out that I'm still very much undecided about how I feel on some of the points that Emily makes in the book, and therefore I'm more than open/happy to discuss with anyone who would like to)
I hardly ever read non-fiction books and I don’t really know why because when I do read non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve seen SO much discussion surrounding this new release from Emily Ratajkowski, with her book causing quite a stir in the Hollywood, feminist and book worlds. As someone who has (very fortunately) never really had any body issues, but has begun to notice more and more the degrading and hurtful thoughts I have about my body from time to time, I was really interested to delve into body politics and especially the opinions of someone who is famous ultimately because of her body.
My Body is a deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity from Emily Ratajkowski, the archetypal, multi-hyphenate celebrity of our time. Emily Ratajkowski is an acclaimed model and actress, an engaged political progressive, a formidable entrepreneur, a global social media phenomenon, and now, a writer. Rocketing to world fame at age twenty-one, Ratajkowski sparked both praise and furor with the provocative display of her body as an unapologetic statement of feminist empowerment. The subsequent evolution in her thinking about our culture’s commodification of women is the subject of this book.
My Body is a profoundly personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power, of men's treatment of women and women's rationalizations for accepting that treatment. These essays chronicle moments from Ratajkowski’s life while investigating the culture’s fetishization of girls and female beauty, its obsession with and contempt for women’s sexuality, the perverse dynamics of the fashion and film industries, and the grey area between consent and abuse.
So where do I even begin? I have so many thoughts about this book. I suppose firstly, let me begin with saying that My Body is a collection of beautifully honest and brutal essays written by Emily at/about pivotal moments in her life and to be allowed to see this other, very realistic side of the Hollywood/fashion industry was extremely eye-opening. Emily draws the curtain on industries that we all probably know isn’t all fame and fortune but is rather complicated to navigate around especially as a young, naïve and aspiring woman. I found every one of her essays an absolute joy to read, not because of the topics explored of course, but because Emily’s writing truly did spark so many strong feelings.
I would love to say that I read this and instantly agreed with everything Emily was saying about women’s bodies and the male gaze. I actually found that it made me go round in circles about how I felt about Emily and the relationship between women in the limelight/film/TV/music/fashion industries and their bodies.
Each essay forced me to have multiple discussions with my boyfriend about the stories and the feelings this book was emitting. In some parts, I was truly shocked and my heart would break for Emily. There are multiple scenes of sexual abuse that Emily has experienced in her life and therefore I can see why Emily would have so many troubled thoughts about what it means to be beautiful or desired by men. Yet in some areas, I found her to be a little bit hypocritical. (FYI: I felt guilty for having these opinions though because I feel like I was doing Emily a disservice by not agreeing with everything she had to say.) However, I just don’t know where I stand on the points she was making. In one section, she’s calling out the fact that women have to change their bodies to be agreeable and desirable to men, yet in another section she feel liberated by posting naked photos of herself and posting them for the world to see; obsessing over the numbers of likes and how popular the post has been. I don’t think I've fully decided on how I feel about that, however, I’m really open to discussing this with anyone who wants to as I’d be interested to see everyone’s different views.
I did also think there were moments when it seemed like Emily and everyone around her were being naïve about the opportunities she was going for. In one part of the book, Emily’s agent sets up an opportunity for her to get the bus to the house of a random, not-very-well-known photographer, to do a shoot, sleep over there and then get the bus back in the morning. To me, this just sets Emily up to be put in a very scary and vulnerable position. Yet no one, not even Emily, could see it was going to be disastrous. So I initially had a problem with that story, but then unless you were Emily and in that position, I don’t fully know how I would have reacted. I look back now on things I’ve done in the past where I knew it was sketchy but I did it anyway and thankfully, nothing untoward happened. I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing sometimes. You see how this book gave me all these confused feelings…
I don’t know Emily personally of course, but although I didn’t necessarily agree with everything she wrote about, I got the feeling that Emily, like with her naked Instagram posts, wasn’t writing these essays for anyone’s approval. She was writing them to make us think deeper about how different bodies are viewed and deconstructing this idea of ‘beauty’ and the power it still holds in nearly every aspect of life. Anyone who is accepted and labelled as ‘beautiful’, ultimately and immediately is given more power and more access to wealth and opportunities, whether you like it or not and whether those opportunities are right for you or not. Emily really did make me think about how on the surface, being ‘beautiful’ is an easy life for the beholder, but in reality, it isn’t all it’s set out to be.
No matter what I thought of the essays, I think Emily is so strong for being able to talk so openly in this book about her experiences, naivety and vulnerability. I know some people won't agree with everything she says because some people will feel like she's a beautiful woman complaining about being beautiful but if you’re going into the book with that opinion, then I don’t think you’re going to get the desired effect out of the reading experience. Clear your mind and be open to challenging your ways of thinking.
READ THIS IF :
✌ You want to read more about body politics, feminism and the male gaze
✌ You want to see the ‘behind the scenes’ of Hollywood and Emily’s climb to fame
✌ You are interested to see what all the hype is about
I hardly ever read non-fiction books and I don’t really know why because when I do read non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve seen SO much discussion surrounding this new release from Emily Ratajkowski, with her book causing quite a stir in the Hollywood, feminist and book worlds. As someone who has (very fortunately) never really had any body issues, but has begun to notice more and more the degrading and hurtful thoughts I have about my body from time to time, I was really interested to delve into body politics and especially the opinions of someone who is famous ultimately because of her body.
My Body is a deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity from Emily Ratajkowski, the archetypal, multi-hyphenate celebrity of our time. Emily Ratajkowski is an acclaimed model and actress, an engaged political progressive, a formidable entrepreneur, a global social media phenomenon, and now, a writer. Rocketing to world fame at age twenty-one, Ratajkowski sparked both praise and furor with the provocative display of her body as an unapologetic statement of feminist empowerment. The subsequent evolution in her thinking about our culture’s commodification of women is the subject of this book.
My Body is a profoundly personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power, of men's treatment of women and women's rationalizations for accepting that treatment. These essays chronicle moments from Ratajkowski’s life while investigating the culture’s fetishization of girls and female beauty, its obsession with and contempt for women’s sexuality, the perverse dynamics of the fashion and film industries, and the grey area between consent and abuse.
So where do I even begin? I have so many thoughts about this book. I suppose firstly, let me begin with saying that My Body is a collection of beautifully honest and brutal essays written by Emily at/about pivotal moments in her life and to be allowed to see this other, very realistic side of the Hollywood/fashion industry was extremely eye-opening. Emily draws the curtain on industries that we all probably know isn’t all fame and fortune but is rather complicated to navigate around especially as a young, naïve and aspiring woman. I found every one of her essays an absolute joy to read, not because of the topics explored of course, but because Emily’s writing truly did spark so many strong feelings.
I would love to say that I read this and instantly agreed with everything Emily was saying about women’s bodies and the male gaze. I actually found that it made me go round in circles about how I felt about Emily and the relationship between women in the limelight/film/TV/music/fashion industries and their bodies.
Each essay forced me to have multiple discussions with my boyfriend about the stories and the feelings this book was emitting. In some parts, I was truly shocked and my heart would break for Emily. There are multiple scenes of sexual abuse that Emily has experienced in her life and therefore I can see why Emily would have so many troubled thoughts about what it means to be beautiful or desired by men. Yet in some areas, I found her to be a little bit hypocritical. (FYI: I felt guilty for having these opinions though because I feel like I was doing Emily a disservice by not agreeing with everything she had to say.) However, I just don’t know where I stand on the points she was making. In one section, she’s calling out the fact that women have to change their bodies to be agreeable and desirable to men, yet in another section she feel liberated by posting naked photos of herself and posting them for the world to see; obsessing over the numbers of likes and how popular the post has been. I don’t think I've fully decided on how I feel about that, however, I’m really open to discussing this with anyone who wants to as I’d be interested to see everyone’s different views.
I did also think there were moments when it seemed like Emily and everyone around her were being naïve about the opportunities she was going for. In one part of the book, Emily’s agent sets up an opportunity for her to get the bus to the house of a random, not-very-well-known photographer, to do a shoot, sleep over there and then get the bus back in the morning. To me, this just sets Emily up to be put in a very scary and vulnerable position. Yet no one, not even Emily, could see it was going to be disastrous. So I initially had a problem with that story, but then unless you were Emily and in that position, I don’t fully know how I would have reacted. I look back now on things I’ve done in the past where I knew it was sketchy but I did it anyway and thankfully, nothing untoward happened. I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing sometimes. You see how this book gave me all these confused feelings…
I don’t know Emily personally of course, but although I didn’t necessarily agree with everything she wrote about, I got the feeling that Emily, like with her naked Instagram posts, wasn’t writing these essays for anyone’s approval. She was writing them to make us think deeper about how different bodies are viewed and deconstructing this idea of ‘beauty’ and the power it still holds in nearly every aspect of life. Anyone who is accepted and labelled as ‘beautiful’, ultimately and immediately is given more power and more access to wealth and opportunities, whether you like it or not and whether those opportunities are right for you or not. Emily really did make me think about how on the surface, being ‘beautiful’ is an easy life for the beholder, but in reality, it isn’t all it’s set out to be.
No matter what I thought of the essays, I think Emily is so strong for being able to talk so openly in this book about her experiences, naivety and vulnerability. I know some people won't agree with everything she says because some people will feel like she's a beautiful woman complaining about being beautiful but if you’re going into the book with that opinion, then I don’t think you’re going to get the desired effect out of the reading experience. Clear your mind and be open to challenging your ways of thinking.
READ THIS IF :
✌ You want to read more about body politics, feminism and the male gaze
✌ You want to see the ‘behind the scenes’ of Hollywood and Emily’s climb to fame
✌ You are interested to see what all the hype is about
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
i listened to the audio version and loved her personal narration of the book.