Model Emily Ratajkowski Wanted A Daughter, But She Admits To Feeling 'Relieved' When She Welcomed A Baby Boy

In My Body, Emily Ratajkowski's soon-to-be released collection of essays, the model touches heavily on growing up under "the male gaze," noting that it's something she's "expertly internalized" and then made "a living off" of.

It's those experiences that shaped her thinking when she became pregnant in 2020 with son Sylvester, who's now 7 months old.

"I wanted a daughter initially, but when I found out I was having a son, I was so relieved," she confessed in an interview for ELLE. "Because I think that it would bring up — I want more children, so it might be something I deal with later — being sexualized way before puberty and being aware of it."

"I have a memory: I did a sexy move down the wall of my parents’ kitchen. I was probably in first grade and my parents were like, 'Where did you learn that?'" she recalled. "I was like, 'I fricking learned it. That’s what women do.'"

Regardless, the Gone Girl actress has said that she'll force "as few gender stereotypes on my child as possible," which is why she never had a gender reveal party.

"I want to be a parent who allows my child to show themself to me," the mom-of-one expressed to Vogue. "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."

Though Ratajkowski and husband Sebastian Bear-McClard have stepped out in NYC on several occasions with their little boy, they chose not to share photographs of their little boy's face until last month, when the star posted a few photos on her Instagram Story, calling the tot "an angel."

She announced her first child's arrival via Instagram, posting a photo of herself breastfeeding.

"Sylvester Apollo Bear has joined us earth side," she captioned the intimate snap. "Sly arrived 3/8/21 on the most surreal, beautiful, and love-filled morning of my life."

My Body is out on November 9.