POWER, IMAGE, AND CAPITAL: A FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF EMILY RATAJKOWSKI’S MY BODY MEMOIR (2021)
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines Emily Ratajkowski’s My Body Memoir (2021) through Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital and a feminist literary criticism approach. It explores how the female body is depicted and commodified, where beauty and desirability become forms of capital. This study investigates how Ratajkowski’s experiences reflect the dynamics of capital in contemporary media culture, Using Bourdieu’s four types of capital: economic, cultural, social, and symbolic. Preliminary analysis reveals that symbolic capital plays a dominant role in shaping the portrayal of Ratajkowski’s body, where her visibility, desirability, and recognition are central to her narrative of both empowerment and exploitation. Through a feminist lens, the study highlights how Ratajkowski navigates these power structures, using her body to negotiate her place within a media-driven capitalist system. The study contributes to feminist discourse by exploring the intersection of gender, power, and capital in the commodification of female bodies in modern society.
Article Details
Section
How to Cite
References
Alicia, J., & Wicandra, O. B. (2020). Analisis Foto Instagram Influencer Indonesia melalui Pendekatan Strukturalisme Pierre Bourdieu. Surabaya. Universitas Kristen Petra.
Anderson, L. (2001). Autobiography. Routledge.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S.K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the sociology of Education (pp.241-258). New York: Greenwood Press.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
Eagleton, M. (Ed.) (1991). Feminist Literary Criticism. Longman.
Eagleton, T (1996). Literary Theory: An introduction (2nd ed.). Blackwell Publishing.
Foucault, M. (2010) The Archaelogy of knowledge and the order of discourse (A.M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). Routledge.
Goodman, L., & Smith, A. (1996). Feminist theory: The politics of patriarchy and autonomy.
Hakami, M.H., Ruminda, & Pramita, A. (2025). The resistance to the objectification of body in Emily Ratajkowski’s memoir My Body. Bandung. Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung.
Hall, S. (Ed.). (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and signifying practices. Sage Publications & The Open University.
Marx, K. (1992). Capital: A critique of political economy (D. Fernbach, Trans., Vol.3). Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1894).
Oakley, A. (1972). Sex, Gender and Society. London: Temple Smith.
Offen, K. (1976). Capital: A critique of political economy (Vol.1). Penguin Books.
Ratajkowski, E. (2021). My Body. New York: Metropolitan books.
Sapir, E. (1921). Language: An introduction to the study of speech. Harcourt: Brace.
Showalter, E. (1997). A literature of their own: British women novelists from Brontë to Lessing. Princeton University Press.
Smith, S., & Watson, J. (2010). Reading autobiography: A guide for interpreting life narratives (2nd ed.). University of Minnesota Press.
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode penelitian kuantitatif, kualitatif, dan R&D. Alfabeta.
Thompson, J. B. (1995). The media and modernity: A social theory of the media. Stanford University Press.
Tunç, T. E. (2010). The body as narrative device: Embodied storytelling in African American women’s autobiography. Wacana, 12(2).
Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. William Morrow and Company.
Yunailis, C. (2024). Narasi Tubuh Perempuan: Kritik Feminisme Dalam My Body Oleh Emily Ratajkowski. Aceh. Universitas Malikussaleh.
Zahid, A., Ayu, N. A. K., & Ikayanti, R. L. (2023). Kapitalisme Tubuh Perempuan: Sebuah pendisipilinan Atau Industrialisasi. Jawa Timur. Universitas Satu Tulungagung.