Chloe Moretz has recently done an interview with Glamour magazine where her criticism of Kim Kardashian’s nude selfie re-surfaced. To put this in context, Kim K posted a nude selfie on Twitter a while back with the caption “when you’re like I have nothing to wear LOL” which sparked Chloe to speak out:
While this twitter conflict actually occurred a couple of months ago, Moretz’s interview with Glamour has sparked discussions again of whether she was right to call out Kim in this way?
My answer is absolutely not.
This is what Chloe recently said to Glamour about the incident:
“I had just gotten off a plane from South Korea, I was incredibly jet-lagged, and I couldn’t take one more thing. I saw that photo, and I had to say something. That picture wasn’t linked to body confidence. It wasn’t a #BodyConfidence or #LoveWhoYouAre. It was done in a slightly voyeuristic light, which I felt was a little inappropriate for young women to see. … I would hate for young women to feel they need to post certain photos in order to gain likes, retweets, favorites, and male attention.… I wasn’t slut-shaming. It’s not about body shaming.”
It’s ironic and actually laughable that Moretz thinks she is speaking out against that which she is subconsciously endorsing – slut shaming. If you critcise someone for being open and proud of their body and sexuality, then you are indeed slut shaming them.
Now I am not Kim Kardashian’s biggest fan and am by no means suggesting that she is a brilliant feminist role model but I do think that Chloe Moretz is completely short-sighted and misguided in her argument. Kim K’s naked pic is a reflection of her control over her own sexuality and this should be celebrated not shunned. Why should we repress women from endorsing their bodies? Yes, it is wrong that we live in a society where women are continually objectified for the purpose of the male gaze. However, we absolutely cannot then tell women that they should be afraid of their bodies and hide them away. After all, our bodies, our decision.
I understand where Moretz is coming from, as a young woman in the spotlight she knows full well the pressures that we face on social media regarding “the perfect body.” I completely agree that being inundated on Instragam with “fitspiration” posts can be detrimental to our mental health. But that is not the issue here. Because, Moretz is not criticising Kim K for making girls aspire to an unachievable body type, she is actually condemning her for being for being open and liberal about her body and sexuality.
My good friend, and excellent feminist writer, Lucy Stewart wrote such an important article which is a necessary manifesto for us all. In “Let’s Fuck Like Girls” Lucy writes about how we must reject the patriarchal attitude of neglecting female sexuality. I completely agree, there is a ubiquitous fear of female sexuality, or rather, female autonomy over sexuality in our society that needs to be addressed. Therefore, if we apply this notion to Chloe Moretz’s criticism of Kim K’s nude selfie then this becomes extremely problematic. How can we tell women to take control and be proud of their sexuality yet disallow them to show their bodies? What would Moretz rather, that girls hide their bodies away and feel shameful about their sexuality? Because that is what society wants us to do. I can’t help but think that if we submit to Moretz’s criticisms then it is just the same as endorsing these unjust notions that sexual pleasure belongs to men alone.
Think of it another way. If you agree with Moretz, that Kim’s picture is giving off a bad impression to young women, would you still think this if a male celebrity posted a nude picture with the same light-hearted caption? Let’s say, James Franco for example. If he did the same, would there be an outcry that he is a bad role model for young men? Absolutely not. So why is it that are we so ashamed of women’s bodies?
As if Moretz’s argument couldn’t get more flawed, her defence over her own nude photo for Nylon magazine was:
“That’s also a lot more based on artwork, so that’s a little bit of a different conversation. Like, if I’m talking to a photographer, I’m talking to a stylist, I’m talking to a makeup artist, we’re kind of creating and collaborating and making something that is artwork and is special and is different.”
It’s all absolute bullshit, if you ask me. Kim Kardashian had every right to post her naked selfie just as Chloe Moretz had every right to pose nude on the front cover of a magazine – there is no difference.
(Photo Credit: Twitter @ChloeGMoretz)
Moretz is just clearly utterly misinformed which is actually a tragedy. In her interview, she claims that “No one knows what feminism means; I really want to educate young women around me.” Yet, if this is the way she wants to educate young women – by pitting women against women for endorsing their sexuality and their bodies then we have a real problem on our hands. All in all, Moretz has picked the wrong fight here – her criticism should not be aimed at Kim Kardashian but at those who actually objectify and degrade women such as the awful Daily Mail showbiz writers producing headlines about female celebrities who “put too much on show” or “leave nothing to the imagination,” and the men who cat call us from their cars as we walk down the street. These are the people who wrongly objectify women by defining us by our bodies, NOT Kim Kardashian who uploads a naked selfie of HERSELF by her own CHOICE.