Emily Ratajkowski bathed in marinara sauce, olive oil and a bunch of spaghetti because ... feminism.
The 26-year-old model appeared in LOVE Magazine’s annual advent calendar on Sunday wearing nothing but red lingerie, gloves and pasta. In the short clip posted on LOVE’s Instagram page, Ratajkowski introduces herself and declares “Today is carbo-loading day,” then begins slathering spaghetti all over her body.
Ratajkowski has been an outspoken feminist who regularly reminds her fans that female sexuality can be empowering. Her latest appearance in LOVE definitely follows suit, while acknowledging the ongoing allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape against dozens of men in power.
“In the wake of the Harvey [Weinstein] fallout and women coming forward with incredible amounts of sexual harassment cases, I have been so disappointed to hear women talk about ‘modesty’ and ‘our responsibility’ as if we need to, yet again, adjust to make it ‘easier’ for the rest of the world,” Ratajkowski wrote in a caption for the video.
Yet it feels particularly tone-deaf to watch a thin, cis, white woman bathing in food and talking about carbo-loading without ever ingesting any of it ― and even more so when she’s talking about Weinstein and sexual violence.
The video ends with a quote from Ratajkowski: “I love pasta and being greased up in olive oil more than life itself!”
LOVE’s advent calendar, known for its sexually explicit shoots, has featured models Kendall Jenner and Ashley Graham so far this month. This year’s theme is #StayStrong, but the calendar’s introduction video is a poorly executed attempt at feminist advertising, with women either posing in lingerie or suggestively performing athletic activities (wrestling, weight lifting, tire flipping, etc.) in little to no clothing.
The video begins with a voice-over proudly declaring that “women are the wave of the future, stronger than anything” before the camera pulls back to reveal a woman lying on her back while opening her legs, then cuts to a closeup of another woman’s scantily-clad vagina and, later, a woman in lingerie working up a sweat on a bike. The women featured in the clip are overwhelmingly thin, white and traditionally beautiful.
Nothing like some good ol’ female objectification and advertising disguised as feminism!