Kim Kardashian and the standards of Beauty
ENGLISH VERSION (only version available)
For 11 years now, the Kardashian family has been increasingly exposed to the face of the world. All generations combined, many of us have already heard about this rather special American family, for whom hiding from the public is not easy.
Whether we like them or not, one thing remains quite obvious: they have had an impact on the image of the "perfect" woman in society.
It all started with Selfies – Kim Kardashian started using them as a way to flaunt her curves all over instagram, thereby instigating trends like the thigh brow or the “I’m-sitting-on-a-sink-so-you-can-see-I-squat type” of mirror selfie. But while all of that was happening out of either Kim’s over confidence or her need to perpetuate self-sexualisation to make sure her show would still work, people started paying attention and wanting to look like her. What’s more, they started looking up to her as a fashion figure – thereby creating a small trend at first of curvier girls with her distinctive nude look.
However, Kim’s hourglass figure is not easy to achieve and definitely doesn’t occur naturally for most women, so the idea that she’s actually democratized looking bigger and more natural is kind of on the wrong path anyway.
“Helen Mirren on the phenomenon: Even Kim Kardashian gets the Mirren seal of approval. ‘I’m not into the Kardashians, it’s a phenomenon I just don’t find interesting, but – and this is the big word: B-U-T-T – it’s wonderful that you’re allowed to have a butt nowadays! Thanks to Madame Kardashian, and before her, J-Lo. We’re also allowed to have thighs now, which is great too. It’s very positive.’”
To read the full version of Helen Mirren’s interview, click here.
So the success of the family appeals to worldwide ladies like Helen Mirren. But why is that?
Why do they appeal to us so much?
Well stylecaster seems to believe that it’s all due to their living out of the American dream. Watching the show will immerse you in a land where nothing is impossible because everything can be bought, and when the day you are uncomfortable with your appearance, you either start eating huge salads everyday and training intensely every morning or just have a quick touch up at your plastic surgeon’s office.
The independent explains that the specific asset of the Kardashian clan is the fact that each sister is different. Fans will have a “favourite”, and will tend to identify with one or more sister – this way, everyone feels represented. This might be idealistic, but when you think about it, the concept makes sense. Kim represents sexuality, curves and your all around attractive woman, Khloe is fitness and the “revenge body” (a concept which I have a problem with but we’ll come back to that in a second), Kourtney is motherhood, Kylie is streetwear and trends as well as nude makeup and a younger, less controversial version of Kim, and Kendall is high-end fashion and the stereotypical beautiful woman. Whether we find these images positive or not is not the question here – what I want to point out is that these women all have different styles, different sizes and shapes, and are all looked up to by millions of people. Before them, curvy women – again, I am aware that they have “curves in the right places” or what we now call the hourglass figure, but they instigated a new image of female beauty, and that was no small endeavour.
3.2m Likes, 22.4k Comments - Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Instagram: "ALL WAYS"
4m Likes, 22.5k Comments - Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Instagram: "Family Over Everything! #OurCalvins"
The movement went much further than that as well – more and more “plus size models” became famous, and the number of Instagram celebrities featuring Kardashian like curves increased significantly in the past couple of years. Younger generations have founded a new “working out” body image where women look more muscular and healthy, more so than surprisingly skinny, just like the models looked on the runways back in the 90s. Again, this is not to say that there are no issues with the way we view women today – we’re still being showcased for our sexuality in many, many ads, and many brands still advertise the “twig” figure that followed Kate moss’s success 25 years ago. We are still asked to be skinny in certain areas – having a big butt or thick thighs will be sexy, but women should still have skinny arms and a flat stomach if you follow today’s unrealistic standards. Things like waist training are also incredibly detrimental to women’s health.
This is also why I take issue with the revenge body debacle. For those of you who aren’t addicted to the Kardashians like I am, “Revenge body” is a show started by one of the Kardashian sisters, Khloé, who has always had personal problems with her weight. In the show, she helps candidates to lose weight within a set period thourgh extreme training and a healthy diet. The first thing I want to point out is that losing weight should never be a revenge. It should be done for yourself, if you want to feel better In your own skin and you’re under the impression that being thinner would change that, but it should never be for someone else in any way. The title also suggests that losing the weight is completely unrelated to health issues – which I find problematic for many reasons as well. The stance of the show is to essentially become like Khloé, who lost a tremendous amount of weight in a record period of time. This is obviously an unrealistic standard to set considering the Kardashians have an unlimited amount of resources to put into their figure and also because not everyone can afford a couple of appointments at the plastic surgeon’s office here and there.
So kids, if you need a revenge body, take it from me – don’t diet – eat more vegetables and less Nutella, just start working out and please, please, do it for yourself or for your health, but never as a revenge on anyone or to impress somebody.
If there’s anything you should take from the Kardashian sisters, it’s more that anyone can look absolutely beautiful in their own way, and that no one needs to conform to society’s standards. However, the message they convey isn’t black and white and is actually controversial at its core.
As much as I can support the change Kim Kardashian’s overexposure has brought on, I still have to point out that it’s too little too late. As a matter of fact, she is not the first woman in history to advertise this type of figure, and it doesn’t just come from her personal inspiration. Some have actually argued that her success is the result of cultural appropriation. What do I mean by that? Well the best way you’l understand is by reading this wonderful article.
2.5m Likes, 14.4k Comments - Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Instagram: "Always Us"
“ We see tangible examples of this fascination and disgust over Black physiques in history. In the early 19th century, a kidnapped and enslaved woman by the name Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman was purchased as part of a circus sideshow. Born to a Khoisan family in South Africa, Saartjie had a genetic medical condition called steatopygia, a condition caused by concentrated amounts of fat in the buttocks and sometimes extends to the front of the thighs and knees, a genetic characteristic in the Khoisan and Bantu tribes of South Africa.”
Thick thighs and big butts were seen as an illness, something that women should be ashamed of. When hip hop culture became more and more popular, black women were still seen as “different’ and no magazine ever portrayed them as the carriers of the next beauty standard. So why did we all change our minds when Iggy Azalea and Kim Kardashian came in with theirs?
Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t the only problem with the kardashians. We could also mention that glass challenge Kylie created when she was still letting us all believe her lips were real, or, again, the waist trainers (that will give you back problems, ladies) and, again, this sick obsession with social media. So yes, there are issues with the way they brought about this neww standard of beauty. But as someone who grew up with curves when everyone was shaped like Kate moss, I can only thank Kris Kardashian’s efforts to make her kids famous, and to let everyone know it’s okay to be shaped the way you want.
For less controversial standards of beauty that I pretty much fully agree with, you can also read my articles on the dictatorship of thinness and on Ashley Graham!
Once again, I hope you enjoyed this article and hope to see you very soon on YCBMV! If you want to follow my latest news, you can sign up to my newsletter down there and follow me on instagram!
And now for the exclusive news - i’m thinking of turning my next couple of articles in videos. What do you think? would you watch them? Would you want them in french or in english? Tell me more in the comments below or email me! xx
INSTAGRAM: @YOUCANTBEMYVALENTINE
