If you keep up with pop culture, then you probably know who Kim Kardashian-West is. And if you stay up to date with her and her sisters, you know all about their fabulous lives, travel adventures, and all of the drama in between. With 99.8 million Instagram followers and 51.8 million on Twitter, Kim is constantly updating people across the globe on her envious life, all with 140 characters and captioned pictures. She’s become a global icon in the fashion and entertainment world, a multimillion dollar business woman, and is the mother to her two kids with husband Kanye West, North and Saint. She is known worldwide, but most people know her for her social media presence, daring fashion sense, and of course, her selfies. She’s even released her own book, Selfish, which includes hundreds of pages of selfies that Kim has taken over the years. Her selfies are probably the one thing that people know her most for, which she frequently posts on Instagram. And some of them have resulted in a lot of controversy and backlash from the public.
Kim’s Instagram post from March 2016, seen above, caused a lot of controversy when it was first posted. In the picture, Kim takes a nude mirror selfie, blocking out her chest and genital area with censor bars. Many people were outraged and offended by her post, leaving rude messages in the comment section. The comments brought up the ongoing argument of “slut-shaming,” which is where an individual or a group of individuals criticize a woman for her sexual activity or for acting in ways that portray her sexual activity. A lot of slut shaming occurs on the internet, especially if a woman posts a picture showing off her body. This angers a lot of people, as they don’t think a woman should be shamed for showing off her body. Men, they argue, can post shirtless pictures or can have nude scenes in television, movies, or art and do not get criticized for doing so. Instead, they are praised and lusted after by women and men, which a lot of people deem the biggest example of sexism.
Kim’s selfie caused much criticism in Hollywood as well. Actress and singer Bette Midler posted a tweet about Kim’s Instagram, as did actress Chloë Grace Moretz, where they both criticized the reality star for the post.
After these tweets and others were published, a platform of people stood up for Kim, arguing that Moretz, Midler, and the rest of social media should stop slut shaming her for posting the selfie. They argued that she should not be shamed for showing off her body, and we as a society need to stop sexualizing women while punishing them for it at the same time. It’s almost a Catch-22; society wants women to show off their bodies but if they do it in a certain way, they’re automatically deemed ‘sluts’ or ‘whores’. While I definitely agree with this argument and how sexist society can be for shaming women for nudity while praising men, I can understand where Moretz is coming from.
Kim has posted many selfies which show her cleavage or butt, along with the occasional nude pictures. While I do not reject the female body or Kim’s, and in fact I do believe it should be praised and celebrated like a man’s is, I do think Moretz is right to a degree. Kim has an entire platform of young girls and women following her that she influences daily. She should find ways to empower them in ways besides nude selfies which for Kim, in my opinion do not always seem to be intended for the empowerment of her female followers and their bodies. Also, as a mother of two children, I think it is slightly inappropriate to be posting nude pictures of oneself on the internet. I am not saying, however, that mothers cannot be sexual beings – they most definitely can and should be. No woman should be punished for her body or being sexual, mother or not. However, I do think that as a parent you have a responsibility to appropriately portray yourself to set a good example for you children. After all, what are you going to tell them fifteen years down the road when they find your nudes? Also, in today’s society we drill it into kids’ heads to not take nude pictures. We encourage them to not send nudes on Snapchat, through texting, and especially forbid them to post it on social media. So as a parent if we do this, what kind of example are we setting for our children? What kind of example is Kim setting for her daughter and son?
I personally like Kim Kardashian-West; I think she is an innovative business woman, has great fashion sense, and in actuality, is not rude to people considering all the criticism she gets on the daily. She always tries to stay positive and kind in situations such as this. However, I don’t think posting nude pictures is her being the best role model for young girls, and she should find another way to use her platform to empower her followers. It is clear, though, that no matter what she does, Kim is always talked about. If she does something good, people talk about her. If she does something considered “bad”, people talk about her. Either way, she’s always the topic of conversation.