Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
quick read of essays and an interesting story that I never knew about in the time it was happening. thought that the content wasn’t very inclusive in the sense of expanding ideas of feminism but ok overall
My first thought in sitting down to write this review is this: it is an outrage how few men will read this book. Ratajkowski is a great writer. Her stories are as clear as their topics are complex, and she guides the reader through them with memorable imagery and admirable honesty.
There is something inherently defiant about a famously beautiful woman giving herself a voice. If asked directly whether all attractive women are stupid, most people would answer no. But it is a profound experience to be directly confronted by the living, breathing words of Emily Ratajkowski and to realize, with embarrassment, how surprised you are that there is a whole person behind her famous face.
In My Body, Ratajkowski doesn't really have answers, as she admits from the very beginning in her introduction. But it is so powerful to join her, this woman who by all cultural standards ought to have it all, in her questions—Can women really wield their beauty as power? Should they? How can women go about existing in bodies that are seen as mere vessels for male pleasure? What happens to women when their beauty fades? Why do we hate beautiful women? Why do we hate ourselves?—to name just a few.
Reading some of the other reviews, I agree that it would have been great to hear more from Ratajkowski on reckoning with the part that she and other models play in supporting an industry that thrives by stirring up mass self-loathing. It is a valid critique, but I honestly didn't think to miss it while I was reading. For better or worse, in My Body, Ratajkowski focuses on looking inward—after a decade of the whole world staring at her, Ratajkowski grants herself the chance to look at herself.
There is something inherently defiant about a famously beautiful woman giving herself a voice. If asked directly whether all attractive women are stupid, most people would answer no. But it is a profound experience to be directly confronted by the living, breathing words of Emily Ratajkowski and to realize, with embarrassment, how surprised you are that there is a whole person behind her famous face.
In My Body, Ratajkowski doesn't really have answers, as she admits from the very beginning in her introduction. But it is so powerful to join her, this woman who by all cultural standards ought to have it all, in her questions—Can women really wield their beauty as power? Should they? How can women go about existing in bodies that are seen as mere vessels for male pleasure? What happens to women when their beauty fades? Why do we hate beautiful women? Why do we hate ourselves?—to name just a few.
Reading some of the other reviews, I agree that it would have been great to hear more from Ratajkowski on reckoning with the part that she and other models play in supporting an industry that thrives by stirring up mass self-loathing. It is a valid critique, but I honestly didn't think to miss it while I was reading. For better or worse, in My Body, Ratajkowski focuses on looking inward—after a decade of the whole world staring at her, Ratajkowski grants herself the chance to look at herself.
I really enjoyed this book! And was pleasantly surprised by Em ratas writing. I listened to here narrating the audio book and when she started crying man so did I!
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
My body knows. Of course physical sensations, just like rage, have a purpose. They are signals, indicators, meant to lead us to truths. But I don’t listen, for fear of what they might reveal.
A reflective and melancholic read, Em Rata lets us into her world to see a little more about the costs of fame; its entanglement with beauty and desire. It’s a giant red flag for the boys club industry that stories like these are not unfamiliar, but I can appreciate very much the reflective nature this story - the author explains injustice and the perspectives that hindsight brings, but does not lay total blame anywhere. She writes about what she accepted and why, recognising that situations were often inherently abusive, misogynistic, unequal; that power dynamics played an important role in much of her own decisions. However, the attitude of ‘I knew what I was doing’ and taking ownership of nudity - it’s all in this intense patriarchal and capitalist circumstance that feels, honestly, a little hopeless and reactionary, defensive even? There are moments in the book where this is recognised too, touched upon, but it definitely left me wondering how she really feels. The rage and expression of anger that Rata writes about in the final chapters is one step towards coming to terms with what’s happened and how she wants to move forward, but especially knowing about the divorce that hasn’t happened yet, I don’t know. It’s an unfinished story, and I’m not entirely sure I’m invested in what comes next. In any case, I found it to be a cathartic read, not for myself but for the author, and a unique glimpse into a life entirely unlike mine, with problems I do not relate to. And perhaps this is what I found more interesting, looking inward to compare and better understand my own life experiences. I believe and trust what I’m reading about, and hear about from other women, and recognise that I don’t experience men, in particular, this way. It made me think more concretely about why this is - that I’ve never been ‘available’, not immediately or conventionally attractive, not in male-dominated spaces (or at least not without my husband). The not being taken seriously, sure, the having to unlearn my own misogyny, yes, the living outside of my body and watching myself move through the world, yes. I enjoyed the challenge this book gave to consider the way the patriarchy impacts women overall, especially in entertainment, but it might’ve been more powerful with a more specific thesis or a clearer red thread, beyond my body.
As you can tell, My Body has spurred my thoughts and I look forward to discussing it with the book club, for sure.
Other quotes I liked:
“How had I already been introduced to the concept of competition between women before I had even learned to read?”
“The world celebrates and rewards women who are chosen by powerful men. I couldn’t help but wonder whether those women were actually the smart ones, playing the game correctly.”
before i attempted to write this review, i scoured through other people’s reviews first to get a picture of how other people felt after reading this book. unsurprisingly, they were a lot of negative ones among the flowery, positive ones.
it’s hard for me to put into words, in terms of what i felt and thought of my body, because emily is actually a real person. i won’t feel good about leaving a scathing review when she poured her heart out into this book—sharing some of her darkest moments in life. i would feel mean.
in some ways, i empathised a lot with emily. it couldn’t have been easy growing up as a beautiful girl and being told that that was all you could ever be—to know that your whole worth as a human being was all about how you look. younger me would have been envious of all she had, but the current me thought her early life was sad, and exhausting to boot.
on the other hand, i could see what other people are saying; that even though emily is aware of how incredibly problematic the industry is, she has no issue profiting from it. i can understand why people thought her hypocritical and self-absorbed. at the end of the day, she is just another privileged white cishet woman who will continue to profit from the system.
i think that, it’s also important to note that emily is human. so as humans do, she’s not going to be perfect. i think she’s also learning and unlearning all the problematic stuff as she goes. she contradicts herself. she has internalised misogyny she needs to work on. she is self-aware, but at the same time there are other issues where she severely lacks it. and you know what? i’m okay with that. i hope she continues to learn.
it’s hard for me to put into words, in terms of what i felt and thought of my body, because emily is actually a real person. i won’t feel good about leaving a scathing review when she poured her heart out into this book—sharing some of her darkest moments in life. i would feel mean.
in some ways, i empathised a lot with emily. it couldn’t have been easy growing up as a beautiful girl and being told that that was all you could ever be—to know that your whole worth as a human being was all about how you look. younger me would have been envious of all she had, but the current me thought her early life was sad, and exhausting to boot.
on the other hand, i could see what other people are saying; that even though emily is aware of how incredibly problematic the industry is, she has no issue profiting from it. i can understand why people thought her hypocritical and self-absorbed. at the end of the day, she is just another privileged white cishet woman who will continue to profit from the system.
i think that, it’s also important to note that emily is human. so as humans do, she’s not going to be perfect. i think she’s also learning and unlearning all the problematic stuff as she goes. she contradicts herself. she has internalised misogyny she needs to work on. she is self-aware, but at the same time there are other issues where she severely lacks it. and you know what? i’m okay with that. i hope she continues to learn.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I cried and i smiled and cried
Women are so fcking cool
Women are so fcking cool