{"id":331889,"date":"2020-09-16T16:58:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T16:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblondesalad.com\/?p=331889"},"modified":"2020-09-17T14:31:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T14:31:17","slug":"buying-my-self-back-emily-ratajkowski-essay-illicit-exploitation-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblondesalad.com\/en\/people\/buying-my-self-back-emily-ratajkowski-essay-illicit-exploitation-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying My Self Back: Emily Ratajkowski’s Essay on Illicit Exploitation of Her Image"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recognizing one’s image<\/strong> only when seen through the lens of a paparazzo<\/strong> is a conclusion, perhaps sad in some ways, which involves all those who have built a profession on that image, but what are the boundaries of all this? The answer is given by Emily Ratajkowski<\/strong> through\u00a0Buying My Self Back<\/strong>, an\u00a0essay of her published yesterday on the New York Magazine<\/strong> that addresses the intricate topic of image protection<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2013, when I appeared in a viral music video, paparazzi have lurked outside my front door. I\u2019ve become accustomed to large men appearing suddenly between cars or jumping out from behind corners [\u2026]\u00a0I\u2019ve become more familiar with seeing myself through the paparazzi\u2019s lenses than I am with looking at myself in the mirror.\u00a0And I have learned that my image, my reflection, is not my own<\/strong>.\u00a0“<\/p>\n

It all started almost 10 years ago, Emily says, after the unforgettable Blurred Lines<\/strong> video in which Ratajkowski made her first starring appearance. At the time, Emily had started working as a model for a couple of years, with the sole aim of saving as much money as she could to return to work in the art sector, a path she had left behind at UCLA<\/strong> in Los Angeles. It is strange how a job started with all the ease that a young woman has at the beginning of her adult life, can then become an infinite interweaving of changes that will potentially remove her forever from her most intimate and true self<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve been working on a collection of essays for the past year and couldn\u2019t be more thrilled that @nymag has published \u201cBuying Myself Back\u201d. This is an extremely personal piece about image, power and consent. Thank you to the entire New York magazine team for this opportunity and all of their support. Link in my bio.<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Emily Ratajkowski<\/a> (@emrata) on