Scrolling through my Facebook timeline last week, there was the usual generic round up of social media stories. LadBible videos that made me chuckle, a few pictures from the poppy memorial in London, a singleton uploading a photo of their ice cream and tagging ‘Bae’ on a Saturday night, and oh, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, those images of Kim Kardashian’s uber-oiled nude body that we were all ‘treated’ to.

Donning what can only be described as a smug look on her face for Papermag, #BreakTheInternet’ accompanied them along with a few million likes on each one. Suddenly after seeing a couple of pictures of this woman on Facebook against my will, everywhere I looked on social media, she was there staring me in the face over and over again like some sort of horrific spot that happens to appear spontaneously and ironically on the day of a presentation in class, reddening and refusing to go away. (One can’t help but think Kim Kardashian would be a suitable metaphor for the blemishes of life…)

Anyway, here’s a message for you Kim. Congratulations. You have not only broken the internet, you have also broken my soul in thinking that this generation had any hope left for their value of censorship. Firstly, as I saw this woman’s naked body splashed around, the thought occurred to me that this isn’t even considered horrific anymore. In fact, in this generation’s high exposure to sex, body perfection and women as property, it is widely acknowledged and more importantly, encouraged as common social practice.

What was the woman thinking? And more importantly what was photographer Jean-Paul Goude thinking? I highly doubt that Kim Kardashian’s ridiculously lubricated body in our day to day lives is going to have a positive impact on our minds. Not to mention the fact that a lot of people don’t have a desire to see this woman naked! One can’t help but think that this has become the new education for this generation and that sex is intricately woven into every aspect of society wherever it can be.

Let’s not be ignorant here. Nowadays, she is looked up to by young people around the world especially in the category of young teens, who idolise her. Proof of this can be seen through her Instagram being the third most popular page on the site and the constant regurgitating of Keeping up with the Kardashians episodes. People are so influenced by this woman and every component of her life; an obsession which can be compared to a dizzy, drug-like state which they crave more of every day.

Instant sharing involved with Facebook and Instagram as well as Twitter means that children are exposed to these images easily and therefore become embedded into their sub-conscious. Because they are young, they will think that this is acceptable to look up to. Adding to her young fan base is the fact that she has a husband and a child at home.

What is baby North going to think when she is growing up and being faced with these pictures left, right and centre? Will she be proud that her mother’s media-hungry obsession drove her to take her clothes off on more than one occasion to be respected? Kim has been recorded saying, “There’s nothing we can do that’s not documented, so why not look your best, and amazing?”

In my opinion, I can’t think of anything worse than the whole world watching your every move, judging you and keeping you and your family in check no matter what you did. The fact that she has let it get to this stage just adds to her brainwashed outlook and what lengths she will go to in order to stay within the sphere of media and social networking for the rest of her life.  I couldn’t help but think about Yeezus on this occasion. I wonder what he thinks of his wife’s escapades and how men and women all over the globe are leering at her body and having, as it were, a piece of his wife. Where is the respect?

Where are the role models who actually matter? Where have the stories enriched with value, education and culture as opposed to this stupid woman taking her clothes off gone? To call me ‘unfeminist’ by shunning Kim’s actions would be unfair. In my opinion, she has never been an advocate of feminism. In fact, by forever glorifying this exposure to her body, she has done the exact opposite by allowing the world to have access to every part of her.

I don’t want to live in a world where these pictures are openly accepted and respected. Unfortunately in a society with an ‘inspirational’ woman such as Kim Kardashian leading the way, from beginning her fame with a sex tape, developing into this monstrosity, we have little hope of ever turning back. A favourite quote of mine from Rob Bell sums up my, and hopefully some readers feelings, perfectly: ‘It’s easy to take off your clothes … But opening up your soul to someone, letting them into your spirit, thoughts, fears, hopes, dreams… that is being naked’, which as a generation we would be wise to follow in the near future.

Charlotte Wade

Categories: Comment Opinion

2 Comments

Kim Kardashian: a step back for feminism?

  1. You misspelt the author’s name. It’s actually ‘Helen Lovejoy’

    Won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children?!?!?!?!

  2. I mean, yeah, that picture is definitely what will scar baby North, not her sex tape with Ray J
    Also SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN
    Everyone seems to want a regressive Mary Whitehouse thing to happen these days

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