Is Kim K the ultimate feminist? 

Like everyone, my relationship towards Kim Kardashian has been complicated. I have floated back and forth in indecision of whether or not I like her, let alone respect her. While the egotistical and sometimes shameless nature of her personality makes her easy to hate, what always draws me back to her confidence to continue doing what she does despite the negative feedback from so many. 

While I used to dislike her, something shifted for me when I watched an interview where she was asked to describe herself in three words. One of the words she chose was ‘sexy’.

Until that moment I had a very naive (if not misogynistic) view of 'sexy'. I saw it more as a tool used to cater to men more than a freedom of feminine expression. What Kim made me realise is some people are just sexy. Sexy is a personality trait – the same as funny, kind or outgoing. And every person should be able to express herself in any way that aligns with their spirit. Instead, due to the harsh judgement on this personality trait of people with views like my own, it has instead been shamed. Is sexy a personality trait of my own that I had repressed due to the harsh judgement of our society? 

After months of analysing this, the short answer is - definitely. 

What I admire about Kim is while she has been labeled as self-degrading and lacking in self respect, she continues to stand tall and be sexy. Self aware enough to make jokes about herself, she chooses not to let it stop her. She simply doesn’t care what what the world thinks of her and doesn't let it stop her being her, and that has earned my respect. 

There's a certain power that comes from owning this, and perhaps that is why we are steered away from it. Kim's ability to do so no doubt paves the way for other people (particularly women) to do the same. However, a question that still bugged me is, is it okay to be sexy if you are motivated by money, as her family so clearly is? 

I decided that what it really comes down to is choice. Equality is about allowing people to be themselves and make whatever choice they want. While it may not be your cup of tea how a women behaves, it is also not your place to condemn. I this this is what Kim challenges. 

Perhaps this whole issue isn’t really about freedom of expression, but choice. Perhaps Kim is the ultimate feminist because she challenges, down to the deepest level, our ability to accept any choice that a female makes. She has also helped us to liberate an entire body type, a much welcomed change after the anorexic fashion of the 2000s.

What’s interesting to me is that, as a reaction to Kim’s choice to be sexy, the media has tried to take away the legitimacy of her motherhood. To say she is a bad mother because she identifies as sexy is another example of sexism today. Denying us the one of the biggest honours of being a female because of a personality trait. 

That being said, Kim Kardashian has to be held responsible for the unrealistic body standards she sets. The use of photoshop, promotion of bullshit weight loss products for money and dishonesty about surgery promotes this. I was really disappointed in their recent interview with Andy Cohen when they denied this. It was just a blatant lack of responsibility. The Kardashians hav been caught using photoshop countless times. Their lack of transparency encourages self hate, eating disorders and body image issues for millions across the globe.

What the Kardashians don't seem to fully realise yet is they lead the way when it comes to beauty. They are the ones who decide what is hot or not. They could change the narrative of beauty and body type all together. Instead they seem to be crushed the hardest by the beauty standards they themselves uphold. They have all been caught photoshopping their photos countless times. They all talk about the negative impact the media has on them when scrutinising their bodies. Don't they see they can change the idea of beauty to being one more natural and realistic and lead us out of this self hate epidemic for good? Now that would be a positive influence.

So Kim, we appreciate you for feeling good, but please don’t make us feel shit about ourselves in the process.

 Thoughts?