Attention is normal, and that's okay."ĮR: I remember going to Forever 21 and buying this ridiculous pink thong underwear because I thought, "That's what you do, right?" It would pop out, and I'm sure that would bother people. So you were both having your bodies shamed. We were harassed, and, damn, that was the worst part of it. She would wear jeans with no pockets that would show it off, and we were constantly in trouble at school with the dress code. I had a girlfriend who was Venezuelan, and her body developed in a different way. She did it in front of the class.ĮR: It was, like, something I became very used to. But yet the people I knew in my everyday life, they their faux pas, their missteps, and since they knew me it was that much harder because the comments felt personal.ĮR: Once I had a teacher, who was a woman, snap my bra because she was mad that it was showing. Because of third-wave feminism, I understood that there are all these fucked-up ideals of beauty put on young women that there was something to be scared about in the entertainment world. My teachers, my boyfriends, my parents' friends didn't understand how complex it all was. So I really was more sexual than my classmates. NW: It's a problematic space where someone is a child but perceived as a woman.ĮR: I genuinely hit puberty before everyone. They didn't know what to do-I looked like a woman. But that same day they said, "You should go over to Ford." Then they signed me.ĮR: Fourteen, but I looked exactly the same as I do now. NW: So you were modeling at that point too?ĮR: I signed with an acting agent first I wasn't really interested in signing with a modeling agent. They were archetypes that those shows specifically play into for prepubescent girls, where it's like the bitchy cheerleader … and trying to do this professionally." My parents were hesitant, but they would take me.ĮR: I started auditioning when I was 15 for the Disney and iCarly roles, but I didn't relate to those characters. When I was 14, a lot of people said, "She's such a good actress, she loves theater, she looks like a woman, she should consider moving to L.A. Once we went to San Diego, I stuck with it. My mom was teaching there, and she would get a discount on plays. NW: Were you interested in theater and performing as an adolescent?ĮR: No, it started in London, actually. Where did you grow up?ĮR: San Diego mostly, but I was born in London and lived there until I was five. The beauty of feminism is that there isn't a wave of historical erasure, like "Now it's your job." That became a moment, and then I wrote my essay, "Baby Woman," for Lena Dunham's newsletter. I could've said I was supporting anyone, and people would've been shocked and horrified. NW: You're very candid about how you use your sexuality and your body and how you communicate.ĮR: A lot of media attention came earlier this year from being a Bernie supporter. I'm getting the impression that there is a wave of Emily-ness going on.ĮMILY RATAJKOWSKI: Is there a wave of Emily-ness? NAOMI WOLF: All right, so you have been out there a lot recently. Am I glad that she and her peers, on-screen and off-, are speaking out, even if what she says sometimes makes me uneasy? Definitely. Is her brand of fierce feminism the future? Probably. I respect Ratajkowski's frank perspective, but I still wish she could have a huge career and keep her shirt on-if she wishes. Do these actions raise real issues? Absolutely. They are engaged in establishing a new narrative to reclaim the body: From SlutWalk to Free the Nipple to promoting Body Positive agendas, it is obvious that they are not the sober puritans of feminism of yore. Her peers, the children of a pornographic culture, are doing just what they should do, given the wash of objectified, naked bodies everywhere. Her politics, especially about the body (show it off), attention (why should women not want it?), assertion, and self-acceptance occurred to me as mostly very good news. Her views reflect a dramatic shift in the culture, as many young women actually do call themselves feminists these days. She is also an outspoken feminist, whether addressing body-image issues on Lena Dunham's site, Lenny, or challenging the haters with a topless, in-your-face Instagram alongside Kim Kardashian. Though the camera had been all about her gleaming upper body as she played a love scene with Ben Affleck (tough day at the office, no doubt), I was impressed that she took the "slutty other woman" stereotype and played it with compassion. I knew of the actress I had been struck by her sympathetic portrayal of a lovelorn college student in Gone Girl. Meeting Emily Ratajkowski is like meeting the zeitgeist.
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