Emily Ratajkowski, Author, “My Body”

Emily Ratajkowski is a model, fashion entrepreneur, feminist and writer. Her debut book, “My Body,” is a searing work of cultural criticism and personal reflection, covering everything from balancing her modeling career as a feminist to combatting the culture of objectifying women to addressing the gray line between consent and abuse.

Get the full experience.Choose your plan

Click here for transcript

Highlights

“There’s undeniable power that can come with commodifying your image and your body as a woman… A lot of my success has been granted to me because I appeal to men and that’s interesting to talk about because I think it shines a light on power and power dynamics and who’s in charge, and so much of my experiences professionally, but also in my personal life, have been about impressing men and letting them in to that circle of power.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

“The book [“My Body”] isn’t about a gotcha moment, it’s not about canceling. I’m really interested in talking about power dynamics and the culture that allows for these situations, and the way women can be complicit in these situations as well, and I mean myself.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

“I had this… real desire to become a creator and an artist rather than a muse and a model, which is something that I think gets at the heart of word empowerment which gets overused, and I’ve been overusing it too… I’m trying to figure out the definition of empowerment in the book. But I realized that only in creating this book and becoming somebody who makes something did I actually… have the feeling of empowerment.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

“I don’t think we can tell young women and girls to stop trying to work the system by posting hypersexual images of themselves, of course they’re going to, and I also don’t think we should constantly be asking women to adjust… Women should be able to wear what they want, do what they want, post what they want, represent themselves how they want, because we do live in this world where they can benefit from commodifying their image and body. But giving them context to young girls to say ‘this is why they’re doing this, this is the world we live in, and what are other ways that you can also be appreciated.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Emily Ratajkowski

Emily Ratajkowski has established herself as a multifaceted talent: entrepreneur, writer, actress, model and activist. Ratajkowski’s debut book, an essay collection called My Body, will be released by Metropolitan Books in November 2021. The book deal immediately followed the New York magazine essay she was commissioned to write entitled "Buying Myself Back,” which led to widespread public discourse on image ownership. In April 2021, she announced that she was NFT’ing a conceptual art piece via a Christie’s auction, raising questions about the nature of authorship, specifically when it comes to the digital realm, while figuratively returning an appropriated Instagram post to its digitally native terrain. Building upon her New York magazine essay, the auction amplified the dialogue surrounding women controlling their image and the ability to receive rightful compensation for its usage and distribution.

Since 2017, Ratajkowski has successfully translated her more than 26 million followers on Instagram into a successful direct-to-consumer business via her apparel line, Inamorata. As a model, she has appeared on the covers of major fashion/lifestyle magazines and is currently the face of L’Oréal’s hair care line Kerastase. As an actress, she has appeared in multiple films, including David Fincher’s Gone Girl and alongside Amy Schumer in I Feel Pretty. Ratajkowski is also outspoken politically, continually using her platform to advocate for her political beliefs, having campaigned for Bernie Sanders in both 2016 and 2020.