My Body
by
8/99
Critics' Rating Index
39/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
89/99
Volume of Reviews
96/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
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About This Book
A deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity. 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 gray area between consent and abuse. Nuanced, fierce, and incisive, My Body marks the debut of a writer brimming with courage and intelligence.
Reviews
"That, it seems to me, is the unsolvable moral question at the heart of this book."
"Throughout her writing has a sweetness and even an innocence."
"Enriched by Ratajkowski's insider perspective on the modeling industry and her willingness to wrestle with the power of the male gaze rather than outright rejecting it, this is an astute and rewarding mix of the personal and the political."
"Read as memoir, it's extraordinary; read as activism, it's unsatisfying."
"In the collection's weakest essay, 'Men Like You,' a righteous letter to her former manager, she writes that she supports, and works in concert with, other women."
"Still, for all her self-awareness, Ratajkowski stops short of exploring the full implications of her alienation ..."
"Ratajkowski has spent decades receiving the world's lecherous gaze, metabolizing it, inviting it, rejecting it, capitalizing on it, and agonizing over it."
"burning down a house that you are still very much inside is hard, which is maybe why so much of the rest of My Body feels impotent."
"The charm of this book lies in the author's largely relatable writing, which shows the complex emotions and confusion of a young woman experiencing her sexual development and maturation into a capable adult ..."
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