The September issue covers, undoubtedly the most important magazine covers of the year, are starting come out, and Harper's Bazaar caught our attention right away. The cover star is none other than Emily Ratajkowski. Now, Ratajkowski has graced hundreds of covers at this point, but none have made as big of a statement as this one, as EmRata is photographed wearing nothing but a lacy bra and grown-out underarm hair (and a lovely pair of earrings).
In addition to posing for the cover, Ratajkowski took her turn in doing something that's becoming quite the norm for magazine cover stars: penning her own essay instead of doing an interview. Since she rose to fame, Ratajkowski has been one of the celebrity set's most vocal feminists, and in the essay, she touches on everything from being free to make her own choices (like letting her body hair grow out) to demanding respect as a woman, no matter how she decides to present herself.
Regarding her choice to grow her body hair out, Ratajkowski wrote in the essay, "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. On any given day, I tend to like to shave, but sometimes letting my body hair grow out is what makes me feel sexy. And there is no right answer, no choice that makes me more or less of a feminist, or even a 'bad feminist,' to borrow from Roxane Gay. … Ultimately, the identity and sexuality of an individual is up to them and no one else."
Scroll to see EmRata's powerful Harper's Bazaar cover, and read the rest of the essay here.
