Book Rating: 4/5
In 2013 Robin Thicke’s music video for “Blurred Lines” sparked controversy due to its depiction of sexual themes and nudity, which some people felt were objectifying women. It was an interesting project that started up conversations about how women’s bodies were perceived to be in the public and the unseen power that comes with it. One of the models featured in the video, Emily Ratajkowski gain fame and notoriety from it. Eight years later, she details her experience working on the video and her position as a model and the exploitations of women’s bodies, especially within the modelling industry. Ratajkowski reflects on her experiences as a physically attractive woman, she recounts an incident during the filming of the “Blurred Lines” video where she was groped by Robin Thicke. Despite feeling violated, Ratajkowski did not speak up, as she saw this as an example of the limited power a woman has when her value is based solely on her physical appearance.
The book’s contents are organised into distinct sections, but they blend to form a more personal, autobiographical narrative as many of the reflections presented in this book are based on Emily’s experience and memories from her teenage years. “They were the talent; we were more like props,” Emily details how she was objectified in the video and yet the same video gave her a successful career. While many pointed out the hypocrisy that lies in Ratajkowski’s book, it provoked a sense of thought towards female sexuality and the male gaze, something from which Ratajkowski benefited especially for someone who hit the genetic lottery and was ultimately advantaged to a certain extent due to the inequality and power imbalances that come within the modelling industry.
Ratajkowski writes about the injustices she experiences as a woman in the entertainment industry. While she does respond to these issues which are to take control and ownership of her image, this alone is not enough to bring about real change within the industry. Although Emily writes about self-presentation and female empowerment, there is a lack of perspective on how women and girls might feel or respond to images of her. Instead, the book focuses more on how men perceive her body, which is mildly frustrating considering that Emily benefitted from an industry that was indirectly perpetuating unrealistic beauty and body standards towards women and girls who don’t fit into the ideal standards of beauty. The book feels like a one-way perspective where it’s one viewing herself as a product, and her observations on the subject lack passion and are emotionally detached. It is definitely worth the read and my best take on the book is that it represents a series of observations rather than a call to action for systemic change.
If there is a takeaway from this book is that looking beautiful requires effort and for many women it is an expectation and is not rewarded. Regardless of whether a woman is a model or not, women are often judged based on their appearance, and this leads to an association between a person’s appearance and self-worth. Women are constantly trying to reclaim their sense of self through their appearance, but many are not able to do so. This creates a problem because they are not able to buy back their sense of self through their appearance. While Emily’s reasoning is definitely valid and one should look into, she still plays a vital role in the contribution of a never-endless cycle that puts women on a constant loop of having self-worth through beauty, something in which only a few women have the luxury of obtaining.