modelingindustry

In her book, “My Body,” Emily Ratajkowski reflects on her fraught relationship with the huge number of photographs of her body that have come to define her life and career.

Some essays recount the author’s hustle as a young model who often found herself in troubling situations with powerful men; another is written as a long, venomous reply to an email from a photographer who has bragged of discovering her. Throughout, Ratajkowski is hoping to set the record straight: She is neither victim nor stooge, neither a cynical collaborator in the male agenda, as her critics have argued, nor some pop-feminist empoweree, as she herself once supposed.

To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

In this episode of Slo Mo, I speak with my friend Anne Therese Gennari, an ex-model, entrepreneur, sustainability coach, and stubborn believer in collective, positive change. In 2017, she co-founded Role Models Management, a talent agency that puts ethics, sustainability, and social justice at its core and gives models a voice to speak up about things they believe in, demonstrating that empowered models can help shift pop-culture in the direction needed for a better world.

Anne Therese's spirit is contagious, and she is an unabashed believer in the power of the individual to change the world. I first met her when she invited me onto her own podcast, Hey Change, via a totally random Facebook Friend Request. I quickly discovered that she is an entrepreneurial force who does not see a divide between business and the desire to do good.

Listen as we discuss:

• Her own journey as a model and subsequent disillusionment with the state of the industry
• Her charge to found a modeling agency that focused on turning models into real role models
• The interesting notion that models aren't really models from the engineering point of view
• How she was inspired by the #MeToo movement to tell her own story as a victim of sexual harassment
• Why optimism is a crucial complement to the very real warnings surrounding climate change

Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
Twitter: @mgawdat
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat

Connect with Anne Therese Gennari on Instagram @annetheresegennari and @rolemodelsmgmt

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Monday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy.

YouTube: @mogawdatofficial
Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
X: @mgawdat
Website: mogawdat.com

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy

Media mogul Tyra Banks talks about returning to modeling with Sports Illustrated 22 years after her iconic swimsuit cover and social media's impact on the fashion industry.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.