In a candid new Harper’s Bazaar essay penned by Emily Ratajkowski, the model, actress and activist opens up about feminism, body hair and her sexuality.
Ratajkowski writes that while attending UCLA and taking a gender studies class she became “shocked by how little I understood about gender, and it made me start to examine my own identity as a woman.”
The swimsuit designer continues to write about learning to understand her own gender identity, saying at 12 or 13 she started trying on “lacy bras and thick gooey lip gloss.”
“I’m positive that most of my early adventures investigating what it meant to be a girl were heavily influenced by misogynistic culture. Hell, I’m also positive that many of the ways I continue to be ‘sexy’ are heavily influenced by misogyny. But it feels good to me, and it’s my damn choice, right? Isn’t that what feminism is about—choice?” the Gone Girl actress asked.
She said she was “made to feel extremely ashamed and, at times, even gross for playing with sexiness.” She received backlash from sexist trolls for her outfit at the Brett Kavanaugh protests.
Em Rata poses for the mag showcasing her underarm hair, which she also discusses in the piece, writing: "If I decide to shave my armpits or grow them out, that’s up to me. For me, body hair is another opportunity for women to exercise their ability to choose—a choice based on how they want to feel and their associations with having or not having body hair."
She previously opened up in a personal essay for Lenny Letter called 'Baby Woman,' where she wrote about trying to embrace her sexuality at a young age.
