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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I took a little detour from the fluffy reading I’ve been doing lately for this book. I’m grateful I picked this one up because I think it was important for me to read this and sit with it. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling pretty raw right now.
You can take this book at face value and see a bunch of essays written about the sometimes glitzy, sometimes not-so-glamorous world of show business and modeling. About what it’s like to live a life where your body is your livelihood. Where your appearance happens to conform to the societal standard of beauty and the benefits that it gains you. Looking at reviews on Goodreads, I know there are people out there who have interpreted the book as such. They say this book is written by a beautiful woman who is whining about the struggles of being physically attractive. I feel sorry for the folks that picked up this book and thought that’s what this series of essays was about.
This book is about the ways that commodification of a woman’s body has changed the way our society sees that body, feels ownership over that body, and treats the woman who lives inside that body. This book is about bodily autonomy. It’s about the lack thereof, for some people. It’s about having experiences where your body doesn’t feel like it’s wholly yours. It’s about how those experiences shape (read: distort) the way we think about ourselves and the world we live in. It’s a book about you, me, our friends, our sisters, and our mothers. It’s honest and heartbreaking. I don’t think I’ll soon forget how reading Emily’s essays made me feel.
It was also probably not my best choice to read this book in the current political climate, considering the fire women’s bodies are under. But, hey. That’s every day and not just today, after all. Cheers!
You can take this book at face value and see a bunch of essays written about the sometimes glitzy, sometimes not-so-glamorous world of show business and modeling. About what it’s like to live a life where your body is your livelihood. Where your appearance happens to conform to the societal standard of beauty and the benefits that it gains you. Looking at reviews on Goodreads, I know there are people out there who have interpreted the book as such. They say this book is written by a beautiful woman who is whining about the struggles of being physically attractive. I feel sorry for the folks that picked up this book and thought that’s what this series of essays was about.
This book is about the ways that commodification of a woman’s body has changed the way our society sees that body, feels ownership over that body, and treats the woman who lives inside that body. This book is about bodily autonomy. It’s about the lack thereof, for some people. It’s about having experiences where your body doesn’t feel like it’s wholly yours. It’s about how those experiences shape (read: distort) the way we think about ourselves and the world we live in. It’s a book about you, me, our friends, our sisters, and our mothers. It’s honest and heartbreaking. I don’t think I’ll soon forget how reading Emily’s essays made me feel.
It was also probably not my best choice to read this book in the current political climate, considering the fire women’s bodies are under. But, hey. That’s every day and not just today, after all. Cheers!
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Raw and true. She encapsulated her own internal struggles well and it’s easy to relate to as a woman. I’ve had many similar conversations with myself over the years. Nice job Emily
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.5 stars and I’m rounding down. I listened to the audio book. This is a compilation of essays she formerly wrote, so it can feel a little disconnected. I thought the beginning started off slow, but then once the chapters got longer it was easier to get into it. Overall I think she’s a good writer and a decent narrator. I found her insights into Hollywood interesting, how rich men pay to look like they are surrounded by models.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
The text of this book is really good, and very honest. I feel that she wrote it...to tell her story. So many of us (the public, especially men) know OF her, but know NOTHING about her, except that she's beautiful, and she's used her beauty for whatever amount of wealth that she's accrued.
I know that there are many memoirs that have been published with THIS style of scattershot narrative (non-linear), that bounce back and forth from different points in her life, to speak on different topics. That was the most difficult part...of me trying to get to know who she is (the goal of picking up this book). I wasn't interested in the tabloid/gossip aspects of the book, and there are portions of this book...where she names names (and in most cases, it was needed and effective).
This first chapter (Beauty Lessons) sets the tone of the narrative, with numbered (23) sections with parts of her life, and what other's and herself thought beauty was/is (to her), like an interior monolog that runs through her mind, at all times in her life. Yikes!
We are our environment and our nature (genetics). This is especially important for her. The house that she grew up in, formed and molded her to think a certain way about herself, and how others will see her...in her life (erotic, at such an early age, but then useless also at a TOO early age). This has had a profound effect on her (and MANY young, beautiful girls/women in our society).
My wife and I have three children, two girls and one boy, with the oldest and younest being the girls. They are, and have been beautiful (especially to us), but we made a conscious choice to focus on who they are (inwardly), and not focus on the outward beauty. As they grew older, that outward beauty become the part where people would take notice, but they had been given the tools (as they grew up, both from Marie and I...to know that who they are, and what they look like, are two different conversations). Now, how that plays out in life for our girls (now grown women), and how Emily Ratajkowski was raised, and gained fame and notoriety has been totally different (and I'm proud of that, for them).
I don't want to judge Emily. She's was raised in a certain way that has been totally differnt than my wife and I, and all our children...and she's "survived" this world, so far. I also hope the best for her. She's got a voice (platform), and she's trying to shine a light on an industry and a culture that chews up our young women (starting SO early, as little children) and spits them out...when they think they've achieved something in this world (mostly in their own minds), but not in the minds of the men that hold the strings of power.
My wife is the one that thought I'd like reading this book. She knows how much I worry about our children (25, 26 and 31), and how the world, social media, and Hollywood USE and abuse our children, through the media lense...and how they see themselves, let alone how others (their peers, random dudes, and male [and female, sadly] excutives with power) want to exploit our young...for their pleasure and commodity.
Marie is currently reading this book, now. It'll be interesting to see what she thinks about her story. She's smarter and more atuned to the "goings on" in this space, though she's disconnected from social media, but she and her girlfriends talk...and their opinions are gathered. I might come back and share some of her thoughts, too. We shall see. She'll share them with me, but it's up to her whether she wants me to share them.
I hope young people read this book, partly as a cautionary tale (not that the young girl will EVER think this will happen to her the same way...or worse), but at least with this knowledge they will make more informed decisions, and surround themselves with people that will protect them...from this predatory environment that our young are growing up in.
Interesting read.
I know that there are many memoirs that have been published with THIS style of scattershot narrative (non-linear), that bounce back and forth from different points in her life, to speak on different topics. That was the most difficult part...of me trying to get to know who she is (the goal of picking up this book). I wasn't interested in the tabloid/gossip aspects of the book, and there are portions of this book...where she names names (and in most cases, it was needed and effective).
This first chapter (Beauty Lessons) sets the tone of the narrative, with numbered (23) sections with parts of her life, and what other's and herself thought beauty was/is (to her), like an interior monolog that runs through her mind, at all times in her life. Yikes!
We are our environment and our nature (genetics). This is especially important for her. The house that she grew up in, formed and molded her to think a certain way about herself, and how others will see her...in her life (erotic, at such an early age, but then useless also at a TOO early age). This has had a profound effect on her (and MANY young, beautiful girls/women in our society).
My wife and I have three children, two girls and one boy, with the oldest and younest being the girls. They are, and have been beautiful (especially to us), but we made a conscious choice to focus on who they are (inwardly), and not focus on the outward beauty. As they grew older, that outward beauty become the part where people would take notice, but they had been given the tools (as they grew up, both from Marie and I...to know that who they are, and what they look like, are two different conversations). Now, how that plays out in life for our girls (now grown women), and how Emily Ratajkowski was raised, and gained fame and notoriety has been totally different (and I'm proud of that, for them).
I don't want to judge Emily. She's was raised in a certain way that has been totally differnt than my wife and I, and all our children...and she's "survived" this world, so far. I also hope the best for her. She's got a voice (platform), and she's trying to shine a light on an industry and a culture that chews up our young women (starting SO early, as little children) and spits them out...when they think they've achieved something in this world (mostly in their own minds), but not in the minds of the men that hold the strings of power.
My wife is the one that thought I'd like reading this book. She knows how much I worry about our children (25, 26 and 31), and how the world, social media, and Hollywood USE and abuse our children, through the media lense...and how they see themselves, let alone how others (their peers, random dudes, and male [and female, sadly] excutives with power) want to exploit our young...for their pleasure and commodity.
Marie is currently reading this book, now. It'll be interesting to see what she thinks about her story. She's smarter and more atuned to the "goings on" in this space, though she's disconnected from social media, but she and her girlfriends talk...and their opinions are gathered. I might come back and share some of her thoughts, too. We shall see. She'll share them with me, but it's up to her whether she wants me to share them.
I hope young people read this book, partly as a cautionary tale (not that the young girl will EVER think this will happen to her the same way...or worse), but at least with this knowledge they will make more informed decisions, and surround themselves with people that will protect them...from this predatory environment that our young are growing up in.
Interesting read.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced