Surprise! Emily Ratajkowski reveals pregnancy, why she isn't announcing baby's gender
Writing for Vogue in an article published Monday, the model, 29, revealed that she and her husband, actor and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard are expecting their first child.
Ini the piece, Ratajkowski opens up about why she and her husband decline to answer questions about their child's gender.
"We like to respond that we won’t know the gender until our child is 18 and that they’ll let us know then," she writes. "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."
The model adds that she hopes to raise her child with as few gender stereotypes as possible.
"But no matter how progressive I may hope to be, I understand the desire to know the gender of our fetus," she continues. "It feels like the first real opportunity to glimpse who they might be."
Though Ratajkowski says her child's gender is not important to her, she admits that, in the past, she "almost automatically imagined" herself having a daughter. But the model says raising a girl comes with a unique set of challenges, noting her own body image struggles growing up.
"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," she writes. "Who is to say I’d be able to protect my daughter from it?"
She also has concerns about the prospect of raising a boy, writing that she's "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 writes. "It’s shocking to realize how early young boys gain a sense of entitlement – to girls’ bodies and to the world in general."
Although she isn't worried about raising her son to be a "bad guy," she worries about "inadvertently cultivating the carelessness and the lack of awareness that are so convenient for men."
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"It feels much more daunting to create an understanding of privilege in a child than to teach simple black-and-white morality," she adds. "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 concerns, Ratajkowksi says she doesn't blame anyone for wanting to know her child's sex.
"But I don’t like that we force gender-based preconceptions onto people, let alone babies," she writes. "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."
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The model caps off her article writing that while she's "completely and undeniable helpless" over many aspects of her pregnancy, she's found "a new sense of peace."
"I’m already learning from this person inside my body. I’m full of wonder," she says.
Ratajokowski revealed her surprise wedding to Bear-McClard on Instagram in February 2018. The "Gone Girl" actress kept it low-key during the New York City Hall nuptials, wearing a wide-brim black hat with a mini-mesh veil and a Zara mustard pantsuit. According to Vogue, the pantsuit retailed for $200.
Ratajkowski stirred pregnancy rumors later that year, when she posted an Instagram picture of herself handing fruit down from a tree with the caption "Bearing Fruit." Though several media publications speculated this was a cryptic pregnancy announcement, Ratajkowsk told USA TODAY at the "I Feel Pretty" premiere in April 2018 that wasn't her intention.
"I wasn't thinking of that when I posted it," she said. "That's really sweet that people were so excited. I'm not pregnant."
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