Emily Ratajkowski Sizzles, Talks Feminism + Sexuality For Vogue Australia January 2019
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Emily Ratajkowski Sizzles, Talks Feminism + Sexuality For Vogue Australia January 2019
Top talent, model, activist, lingerie designer and actor Emily Ratajkowski covers the January 2019 issue of Vogue Australia. Jillian Davison styles Emily for images by Nicole Bentley.
Zara Wong interviews Emily, who is in Sydney to receive the International Woman of the Year award at the GQ Australia Men of the Year event.
The star is proud of her combination of beauty and intellect, believing that she herself is a vessel for discussions on the politics of feminism. AOC adds “and sexuality”.
“It’s a contradiction,” she says. “Firstly, I think it’s sexism. I think in general people don’t really want to hear women talk about these kinds of things, and especially women who make money on how they look: they especially resent them using their voice.”
She’s heard the criticisms of herself, and has considered them. “The only argument that I think is sort of interesting is the conversation that somehow I’m playing into a patriarchal society by looking the way I look and capitalising on my sexiness,” she says with a shrug. “But I don’t really care if me wearing a crop top is somehow playing into some patriarchy, because it makes me feel good about myself, and I shouldn’t be limited on that. Making rules as to what a feminist should look like or wear is insane to me.” It’s a thought she will touch upon again at her speech at the GQ Australia Men of the Year awards, where she was acknowledged for her activism – that she can wear a string bikini and have a stand on politics, too. “No-one should be shaming anyone, and women especially should not be shaming other women.” She probes further: “I think there’s a whole other level of women who are sexy and are promoting their sexiness or are comfortable with their sexinesss; they especially don’t want to hear it from them.”
As for GQ, they justified their award by saying Ratajkowski was key to the “modern feminist movement”.
“Spending the last few years travelling the world as one of the planet’s most in-demand models, she’s also established herself as a de facto face of the modern feminist movement, spreading a message of body positivity and a ruthless, no-holds-barred approach to sexual equality that has seen her sweep up both accolades and criticism across the globe,” GQ announced.
