--- description: Emily Ratajkowski believes that whether or not someone wears a bra is up to them, not a societal standard. title: Emily Ratajkowski: 'We Associate Boobs With Trashiness' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd99a3701c8e6cc6e/6988a631196cf42fd103d37c/emily-ratajkowski-braless.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Emily Ratajkowski: 'We Associate Boobs With Trashiness' by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2016 4:39 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 06: Actress Emily Ratajkowski attends Target + IMG New York Fashion Week Kickoff event at The Park at Moynihan Station on September 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Desiree Navarro/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 06: Actress Emily Ratajkowski attends Target + IMG New York Fashion Week Kickoff event at The Park at Moynihan Station on September 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Desiree Navarro/WireImage)Desiree Navarro—WireImage/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2016 4:39 PM CUT Emily Ratajkowski continues to speak out about how there’s no such thing as an “[ideal body,](http://motto.time.com/4396276/emily-ratajkowski-feminism-ideal-body/ "undefined")” and that [double standards](http://motto.time.com/4480205/emily-ratajkowski-double-standards/ "undefined") are all around us. In a new [interview](http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a39237/emily-ratajkowski-emrata-boobs-interview/ "undefined") with Elle, Ratajkowski went off on boob size and bralessness. Ratajkowski believes that whether or not someone wears a bra is up to them. She explains, “We associate boobs with trashiness because we don’t see it as something beautiful or we see them as something vulgar because it’s scary.” She used to be jealous of girls with smaller breasts because, “they could wear cool T-shirts or have this cute underboob and no one was ever offended,” but she has since learned to embrace her own size. She calls going [braless](http://motto.time.com/4423863/kendall-jenner-free-the-nipple/ "undefined") “more chic and much more natural and a lot more sexy.” Ratajkowski recently received flak on social media after she wore a [plunging dress](http://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/news/a17609/emily-ratajkowski-harpers-bazaar-naked-dress/ "undefined") at a Harper’s Bazaar event at New York Fashion Week. The dress bared almost all, but she called it “very comfortable and simple.” > [](https://twitter.com/emrata/status/774628670514356224) [Tim Gunn](http://motto.time.com/4485397/tim-gunn-plus-size-women-op-ed/ "undefined"), _Project Runway_ co-host and mentor, called her dress “repugnant” and “vulgar.” Ratajkowski responded to Gunn’s comments via Twitter with [tweets](https://twitter.com/emrata/status/775455798487023616 "undefined") such as “Who controls women’s bodies in 2016?” > [](https://twitter.com/emrata/status/775454193570160641) > [](https://twitter.com/emrata/status/775454461439385600) > [](https://twitter.com/emrata/status/775455482987311104) > [](https://twitter.com/emrata/status/775458325408407552) Read her full interview with _Elle_ [here](http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a39237/emily-ratajkowski-emrata-boobs-interview/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4494931/emily-ratajkowski-elle-boobs-body-image/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4494931/emily-ratajkowski-elle-boobs-body-image/"},"headline":"Emily Ratajkowski: 'We Associate Boobs With Trashiness'","datePublished":"2016-09-15T16:39:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:23.446Z","description":"She says there's nothing wrong with going braless","url":"https://time.com/4494931/emily-ratajkowski-elle-boobs-body-image/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd99a3701c8e6cc6e/6988a631196cf42fd103d37c/emily-ratajkowski-braless.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd99a3701c8e6cc6e/6988a631196cf42fd103d37c/emily-ratajkowski-braless.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Target Event - September 2016 New York Fashion Week: The Shows","caption":"Target Event - September 2016 New York Fashion Week: The Shows","creditText":"Desiree Navarro—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4494931/emily-ratajkowski-elle-boobs-body-image/","name":"Emily Ratajkowski: 'We Associate Boobs With Trashiness'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Question Everything: Should We Free the Nipple?","description":"TIME hit the streets to ask New Yorkers several offbeat questions designed to provoke and prod the brain.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/AvS4dOO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-18T14:46:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AvS4dOO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4494931/emily-ratajkowski-elle-boobs-body-image/","duration":"PT51S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4494931/emily-ratajkowski-elle-boobs-body-image/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```