Take a photo of a barcode or cover
carolinek1027 's review for:
My Body
by Emily Ratajkowski
Spoiler
3.75/5I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this. The writing is good and the stories she has to tell are interesting. She only slips up a few times in attributing her experiences (as a conventionally attractive well off white woman) to that of all women; she’s good at speaking from the I. Her lack of passion for modeling yet comfort with posing and being nude is interesting and sort of likeable. Of course most readers can agree that Buying Myself Back is probably the best chapter- there was a reason it was published first. But I also really liked Men Like You as a close second, followed by K Spa and the Woozies. I also really liked how the essays were not chronological but how it was really easy to figure out where you were and how seamless the transitions were.
My main issues were the suspected lack of acknowledgement of her positionality at times (in terms of her lack identity), but at other times she is aware so I’m sort of mixed about how many times I feel like she needs to acknowledge this.
Mainly, I really did not like the way she spoke about her wealth or lack of thereof compared to her peers. I fully realize that I don’t know the ins and outs of her upbringing and financial situation so of course take this with a grain of salt, but as someone who grew up around people way wealthier than myself, I’m super attuned to cues of wealth (or lack of thereof). Like she emphasizes heavily how her parents were teachers, but her dad DID teach at a private school in southern California. Most readers would see “teachers” and move on, assuming those salaries are low but that often isn’t the case at a costal private school. She emphasizes how her house was creaky and the walls didn’t go up all the way but the house had character and many unique assets, which is more of a positive than a negative, contrary to her opinion. I would be very surprised if the value of the home was below 800k today. Just some guesses. I understand how it feels to be surrounded by people much richer than yourself even when you’re an upper middle class person to begin with; when you’re young you forget the second part but as you grow up you should start to remember. She, as an adult, should acknowledge that more and as someone who grew up similarly, it reads bratty.
When she gets older, there is a chapter about how her and her husband are sent on a paid trip to a luxurious island resort to take insta photos. She and her husband separate themselves from the other people at the resort because she is working. Like. I’m sorry. She takes a few photos *on* the trip. That’s barely work. And she thinks she’s so humble because she isn’t paying for the trip???? She’s THERE. The people on the trip don’t see her as any different from one of them. I forget which chapter that was but wow was that tone deaf. The woman’s net worth is $8 MILLION dollars. You’re not POOR, EMILY. Your home is worth over $2mil, and that’s just the California one. There is also a Noho apartment. I did my research because I just had a FEELING she was better off than what was disclosed.
I really don’t want to judge a female writer on likeability, but this is a series of autobiographical essays, no? I don’t find her the most likeable but in most cases I don’t think it takes away from her writing except when she lacks perspective about her position in the world. For the most part, the rawness of this book is not shallow at all. And she’s a beautiful writer. This is a good series of essays solidly but not revolutionary.