She rose to fame in Robin Thicke’s infamous Blurred Lines music video, but model Emily Ratajkowski has now revealed that she and husband Sebastian Bear McClard are expecting their first child. However, this was no ordinary pregnancy announcement.
In a self-penned piece for Vogue, the 29-year-old opened up about pregnancy and parenthood, but confessed that she and her husband won’t be revealing their baby’s gender for an important reason.
“When my husband and I tell friends that I’m pregnant, their first question after ‘Congratulations’ is almost always ‘Do you know what you want?'” she 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.
She continued: “Who will this person be? What kind of person will we become parents to? How will they change our lives and who we are? This is a wondrous and terrifying concept, one that renders us both helpless and humbled.”
The model and activist went on to say that she likes the idea of “forcing as few gender stereotypes” on her child as possible but admitted that there is an appeal to find out if she and Sebastian are having a boy or a girl, no matter how progressive she hopes to be.
“As my body changes in bizarre and unfamiliar ways, it’s comforting to obtain any information that might make what’s coming feel more real,” she wrote.
“I don’t necessarily fault anyone for these generalisations—a lot of our life experiences are gendered, and it would be dishonest to try to deny the reality of many of them. But I don’t like that we force gender-based preconceptions onto people, let alone babies.”
Emily also remarked: “I want to be a parent who allows my child to show themself to me. And yet I realise 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.”
Though there aren’t many celebrities who have said they’ll be raising their children in a gender-neutral way ever since the pregnancy was announced, Emily and Sebastian aren’t the only ones who have addressed it.
Stars such as Kate Hudson, Adele and Jada Pinkett-Smith have all confessed that they are raising their children without gender stereotypes.
When Shiloh Jolie-Pitt wished to be called John at the tender age of three, parents Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made an effort to support their child’s wishes whether it was about cutting Shiloh’s hair or wearing boys’ clothes.
Closer to home, other celebrity parents have revealed they prefer the surprise of waiting to find out their baby’s gender.
When Laura Byrne was pregnant with Marlie-Mae, she and partner Matty J hosted a gender-neutral pastel themed baby shower and revealed they weren’t going to share the sex of their baby.
Prior to son Oliver’s birth, fellow reality TV star Jules Robinson confessed that neither she or husband Cam Merchant learned they were having a boy until the day he entered the world.
“I think everything is so instant nowadays, so it’s nice to build that anticipation. Waiting to meet your baby and find out what you get is one of the greatest old-fashioned surprises in life,” she revealed in a previous chat with Who.
There’s certainly been a boom in the gender reveal industry and it’s even been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Virtual games for video chat, “it’s a boy” hand sanitisers and “it’s a girl” masks are all legit products on the shelves.
UK online retailer Party Delights even reported an 87 per cent increase in gender reveal-related products over the past three years and reckon it’s due to social media and viral videos.
Whether you’re into the trend or not, parenting is changing and the gender-neutral way may be the norm in a few years.
But one thing’s for sure, Em Rata’s baby is going to be a beautiful one.
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