Emily Ratajkowski, 29, has revealed about her pregnancy, but she did not respond to questions about whether she wants a boy or a girl.
In an article published Monday on Vogue, Ratajkowski revealed that she and her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, are expecting their first child. She also revealed why she and her husband did not respond to the questions about their kid’s gender.
The model wrote, “We like to respond that we won’t know the gender until our child is 18 and that they’ll let us know then. Everyone laughs at this. There is a truth to our line, though, one that hints at possibilities that are much more complex than whatever genitalia our child might be born with: the truth that we ultimately have no idea who – rather than what – is growing inside my belly.”
“But no matter how progressive I may hope to be, I understand the desire to know the gender of our fetus,” she continued. “It feels like the first real opportunity to glimpse who they might be.”
Ratajkowski said her child’s gender is not important to her; however, she admitted that she “almost automatically imagined” herself having a daughter in the past. She said raising a girl “comes with a unique set of challenges, noting her own body image struggles growing up.”
She wrote, “I still fight subconscious and internalized misogyny on a regular basis, catching myself as I measure the width of my hips against another woman’s. Who is to say I’d be able to protect my daughter from it?”
Ratajkowski said she is also concerned about the prospect of raising a boy. She wrote she is “scared of having a son too, although not in the same way.”
“I’ve known far too many white men who move through the world unaware of their privilege, and I’ve been traumatized by many of my experiences with them,” she added. “It’s shocking to realize how early young boys gain a sense of entitlement – to girls’ bodies and to the world in general.”
“It feels much more daunting to create an understanding of privilege in a child than to teach simple black-and-white morality. How do I raise a child who learns to like themself while also teaching them about their position of power in the world?”
Despite her mixed emotions, Ratajkowksi said she does not blame anyone for wanting to know her child’s gender.
She wrote, “But I don’t like that we force gender-based preconceptions onto people, let alone babies. I want to be a parent who allows my child to show themself to me. And yet I realize that while I may hope my child can determine their own place in the world, they will, no matter what, be faced with the undeniable constraints and constructions of gender before they can speak or, hell, even be born.”
The “Gone Girl” actress wrote that while she is “completely and undeniable helpless” over many aspects of her pregnancy, she has found “a new sense of peace.”
“I’m already learning from this person inside my body. I’m full of wonder,” she added. In February 2018, Ratajkowski took to Instagram to reveal her surprise wedding to Bear-McClard.
