According to Cosmo, yes! The fashion magazine debuted its 50th anniversary cover this past week and who else to grace the cover than the Kardashian Klan. The first time in four years that the women of the family have been photographed together, they pose flawlessly in classic Risky Business type wear.
But what really caught the public’s attention was Cosmo’s claim the Kardashians are “America’s First Family” in the bold letters right in the center of the cover. Last time I checked, the First Family referred to the Obama family. Disregarding any opinions or bias on the Kardashians, we are not at the point where you can equally compare reality TV stars and the family that runs the government.
Cosmopolitan instantly shocked its readers, mostly in a negative way. Twitter reprimanded the magazine and responded by demanding respect for the actual First Family.
Let me clear the air a little… I believe Cosmo was referring to the Kardashians as the First Family of pop culture. We do consider them the “royal family” when it comes to all things social media and pop culture anyways. They’ve built an empire and influenced society, social media, and culture in a way no one could have predicted. The family’s estimated net worth is over $300 million. I don’t know about you but I wasn’t financially stable enough to buy my own home my senior year of high school like the younger Jenner sisters were. Nor could I launch an entire family’s careers off a sex tape.
The Kardashians are loosely involved in politics. Kimye staked their support in Hillary Clinton early on in the 2016 Presidential Campaign and Kim mentioned becoming mayor of the Armenian town Glendale, but other than that, they are not addressing Congress and calling for government shutdowns. But hey, maybe they are referencing them as the First Family since Kanye is running for president in 2020…
Cosmo pulled the best marketing tactic and got major publicity for their 50th birthday cover, but besides that, I don’t think the magazine is trying to call out the presidency- it’s a fashion and pop culture magazine. Society hops onto any platform to criticize the Kardashians when the family itself doesn’t even take themselves seriously and see themselves as a huge influence on pop culture. Kanye calls himself “Yeezus” while Jay Z is called Jehovah, pretty important religious figures, while the Kardashians face immense backlash as the “First Family”.
The family isn’t rotting our brains. Their thoughts and opinions are ones everyone has; theirs are just on national television and all over the internet. Society looks at the family as another poison degrading our society just as Marilyn Monroe and Madonna were. In truth, they’re icons. This “First Family” is not running the country but hey, maybe Cosmo has it right- maybe the Kardashians are the royal First Family of pop culture.