By now, most of us have seen Kim Kardashian’s nude selfie that she posted on Instagram captioned “When you’re like I have nothing to wear LOL.”
If you haven’t, here it is:
She posed nude with black bars covering her lady parts, donning blonde hair. On Twitter, she told the world that the picture was actually taken years ago and she just decided to post it on a whim.
She received criticism from Bette Milder, P!nk, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Piers Morgan. But other celebrities like Demi Lovato, Ariel Winter, and Amber Rose supported her decision to be nude. To see who’s #TeamKlothes or #TeamKim, check here.
Kim responded with an elaborate post on her website and app:
Hey, guys. I wanted to write a post elaborating on my tweets last night. In all seriousness, I never understand why people get so bothered by what other people choose to do with their lives.
I don’t do drugs, I hardly drink, I’ve never committed a crime—and yet I’m a bad role model for being proud of my body?
It always seems to come back around to my sex tape. Yes, a sex tape that was made 13 years ago. 13 YEARS AGO. Literally that lonnng ago. And people still want to talk about it?!?!
I lived through the embarrassment and fear, and decided to say who cares, do better, move on. I shouldn’t have to constantly be on the defense, listing off my accomplishments just to prove that I am more than something that happened 13 years ago.
Let’s move on, already. I have.
I am empowered by my body. I am empowered by my sexuality. I am empowered by feeling comfortable in my skin. I am empowered by showing the world my flaws and not being afraid of what anyone is going to say about me. And I hope that through this platform I have been given, I can encourage the same empowerment for girls and women all over the world.
I am empowered by my husband, who is so accepting and supportive and who has given me a newfound confidence in myself. He allows me to be me and loves me unconditionally.
I feel so lucky to have grown up surrounded by strong, driven, independent women. The life lessons I’ve learned from my sisters, my mother and my grandmother, I will pass along to my daughter. I want her to be proud of who she is. I want her to be comfortable in her body. I don’t want her to grow up in a world where she is made to feel less-than for embracing everything it means to be a woman.
It’s 2016. The body-shaming and slut-shaming—it’s like, enough is enough. I will not live my life dictated by the issues you have with my sexuality. You be you and let me be me.
I am a mother. I am a wife, a sister, a daughter, an entrepreneur and I am allowed to be sexy.
#happyinternationalwomensday
Kim is right. Her sex tape does not define her and she has made something of the fame she received from her tape. She is a business woman who garnered so much success and millions from her video game, clothing line, fragrance, endorsements, and app creation. Her sex tape – with her boyfriend of over a year, might I add – put her face in the limelight, but she took that recognition and created a brand. People say she needs to show that she is more than her body because we have all seen her body in her numerous nude photo shoots.
But I don’t think she does. Why can’t a woman be proud of her body and post an exposing photo without having to give a disclaimer? As Kim stated in her response, she shouldn’t have to clarify and say, “Oh, By the way I am a very successful entrepreneur! Now, enjoy my nude!” NO!! I originally was going to write about Amber Rose and her Slut Walk and how she is empowering for woman, but Kim took me in another direction. The purpose is the same.
Feminism is supposed to be empowering for women. We are supposed to uplift and encourage each other. Some women feel nudity empowers them like Kim K, but others like Ayesha Curry (big fan of her too!) are empowered by modesty.
Everyone’s into barely wearing clothes these days huh? Not my style. I like to keep the good stuff covered up for the one who matters
— Ayesha Curry (@ayeshacurry) December 6, 2015
Amber Rose jumped to Kim K’s defense after P!nk slammed her by saying that women who choose to use “their brains, their strength, their work ethic, their talent, their “magic” that they were born with” will feel “pride and self respect” rather than “fleeting excitement resulting from attention.”
Who is Pink to say that women who are empowered by their bodies do not have self respect? Because Kim and Amber are proud of their bodies they lack self respect? SELF respect is how you feel about yourself and only YOU can be the judge of that. The world cannot define you and how you feel about yourself. If you feel respected by the decisions you make, then it is your life to live.
Feminism is not a “pass to be a hoe,” as a commenter said on Kim’s Instagram. She is a hoe because she posted a nude? Because she shared an intimate moment with her boyfriend that got leaked to the world? I have always wondered what makes a woman a hoe. A woman with a lot of sexual partners? If she is being safe, who cares? It is her life and not yours. Some people may call me a hoe for supporting this ideal, but I think women are responsible for their own bodies and do not need anyone’s approval. Feminism is about uplifting each other as women. Let women take pride in their actions and sex choices. Read how to be more sex positive here.
My friend Angelica White and I got into a respectful debate about it and she said “You can feel empowered without consistently being naked. I LOVE Kim, but show others that your body/sexuality is not the only thing that empowers you…especially in a world that keeps telling women we are nothing more than our bodies.” She continued and said that young girls look up to her and it sends a negative message.
Society places these standards on women and says that it’s wrong for us to show our bodies and that we have to be modest and keep the goods covered up. Why should we accept that? Women like Amber Rose and Kim Kardashian don’t, and that is why we need women like them in feminism. The world keeps telling us we are not more than our bodies and Kim is down to change that by posting a nude selfie and being a kick-ass business woman.
I have been a Kim K fan since the premier of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2007 when I was a 10-year-old, and I do not look down on her for her decisions. But that is just me. My mom taught me what is right from wrong; I don’t look to Kim Kardashian before I make choices. It sends a message to be comfortable in your own skin and own your sexuality.
We would not be having this conversation if she did not have the sex tape, and Kim should not have to reap the blunt of the overdose of the sexuality of women when it is happening everywhere.
I see women like Kim K and Amber Rose as much more than their bodies, and I wish that more people in the world could too.