Welcome to Litsy!

I really didn‘t know anything of Emily Ratajkowski except for posting about this book. This story breaks my heart. Recognizing and acknowledging her own physical beauty and utilizing that beauty to earn a living - you go Girl. But for others to use her beauty, without her knowledge or permission as a commodity for their own wealth is just wrong. …I scrolled her instagram but felt compelled to only land my eyes on her postings with her son.

I have the unfortunate job of relaying the news that this short story collection is extraordinary and Em may be at the vertices of "beautiful" and "brilliant" on a graph of those categories. This is highly unfair, but also means that I can love her unconditionally because why would I even bother being toxically envious? We are different species.

And yet. What struck me about all of these stories was just the relatability of her experience.

I love having a rare day all for myself- a bookstore visit and rose hot cocoa afterward at my favorite cafe. #CurrentlyReading

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.

+always love reading about confident and empowered women

An impulse audio pick ❤️ What a PERFECT follow up to Love, Pamela ( ER even references what PA went through in this) This is a great book & a terrific audio! A woman‘s body is her business! You don‘t get to shame it, sell it, touch it without her permission! I am SO MAD & sad about so much of what ER was subjected to I hope the world is getting better for us (grrrrls especially) but I might be hanging onto that hope with fingernails

#IDAHOBIT2023 all bodies matter 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

This is an interesting read, I didn't know who she was until I heard about this book. She is a solid writer, I find her story a bit sad, somehow I am reading a lot of books lately about subtly cruel mothers. Who pass their own obsession with perfect looks and bodies to their daughters & the daughters writing about it as if it was normal.
I appreciate the way she writes about how her career has caused her to view her body outside of herself

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A debut collection of essays by the famous model Emily Ratajkowski. The work explores varied facets of her relationship with her body, with the modelling and Hollywood industries, with powerful men. She is frank and vulnerable, and it makes for a good read about the commodification of the female body in the industry and coming from one of the foremost models in the world, why she offers no apologies for her choices.

Ambivalence. How we love/hate our bodies! How we are empowered/dispowered while using our sexuality! How we lift all choices for women & judge women‘s choices! I don‘t even know how I feel about this book, but I read it fast on a slow train. Also, the modeling industry is still full of d*cks.
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Gifted by a friend.

Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94 I love this idea of a soothing picture! ❤️ I could not pick one picture so - I have this quote in my office, the poster in my bedroom, I am always soothed walking in a forest along a creek, and my cat Obi cracks me up all the time! #thoughtfulthursday

I would love to see a picture that soothes YOU!!! Please consider joining in and posting one! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Emily Ratajkowski‘s intimate essays ask perceptive questions about beauty, sexuality, and power. I think most women would recognize parts of themselves in her words and experiences. Her writing is thoughtful and personal; I would love to read more from her. 🎧

"Beauty was a way for me to be special, when I was special, I felt my parents love the most."
An incredibly candid account of objectification and power. Her compelling prose surprised me and made for a quick thoughtful read. Unfortunately theres quite a bit of hate for this book much like Ratajkowski herself. But before you judge her based on her Instagram or the Blurred Lines music video try reading her words and decide from there. #bookreview

I went into this audiobook with no real expectations. I knew next to nothing about the author but had read a couple of good reviews. I ended up surprised by how compelling it was to listen to Ratajkowski talk about her body and being beautiful and the ways she has become a commodity. There are many contradictions but that made it seem more real to me as if she is still reconciling her feelings.

Listened to the audiobook performed by the author. Ratajkowski is a gorgeous woman whose life has been shaped because of the way she looks in both good and bad ways. She writes about the conundrum to be in the position she is in (famous, influencer, financially benefiting) while being beholden to the male gaze. Emily wants her own sense of agency and control but shares so many examples of how her own body is used by others in truly atrocious ways.

Emily Ratajkowski is giving us normal folk a glimpse of how it feels to be physically beautiful and to capitalize on it. She is calling out, and yet, profiting from, an unhealthy system, and that is what is so compelling here. Plenty of people like me have told her how she SHOULD feel and these essays are her way of telling us how she DOES feel. Agree or disagree, she is brave for the telling.

must read

Well-written and thought provoking essays about women and their bodies - how they use them, the miracles they are, and how they are perceived by men.

I didn't know much at all about the author and found myself doing lots of Googling and slowly becoming a fan.

Her essay about Britney was eye-opening and sad.

I always liked the song Blurred Lines, but can't help but hear it differently now.

This was my birthday #botm add-on.

Glad I read it!

TW: rape, sexual assault.
This book was so unexpected and so interesting to read. I struggled to read the second chapter because of the depictions of assault but I couldn't stop reading all the other chapters.
Ratajkowski gives us an insight into the life of a famous model. She carefully discusses her complicated relationship with fame and her body that made her famous. It was refreshing to read her take on the misogynistic industry she works in.

A lot of the insights Emily makes in this reflective essay collection about her body were universal despite, as a model, her body being her main source of income. That said, even though I finished yesterday, I had to dig deep in my memory to think of the exact points she made. I enjoyed it while reading, but nothing memorable. Low pick. #botm

📸 the author‘s Instagram

Some things are hard to fact check. This is not one of them. 😑

Enjoying this #botm choice more than I expected!

I had no interest in this book, but then heard Emily on a podcast and was curious. She is thoughtful in her examination of the co-opting of women‘s bodies, especially her own, to be used by and for men. She acknowledges her changing understanding of this since she started modeling. I‘m glad to see someone known for their body providing this kind of commentary. I think this will be especially good for young women to read.