Weighing In On Kim K’s Naked Selfie.
So after days of watching the Kim Kardashian naked selfie fiasco trend all over the internet I felt the burning urge to weigh in. So here goes. First of all I would like to say that after “educating” myself on the topic, I agree with both sides of the argument. Women are constantly told what to do and not to do with their bodies. They are stigmatized when they show their bodies and when they cover up. They are told what they should and shouldn’t be doing with their reproductive organs and rights. From school dress codes to rape culture to slut shaming, women and their bodies are extravagantly stigmatized. But a woman SHOULD be empowered by her body. A woman’s body can do MAGICAL things. It bears life. It fights disease. It brings pleasure. It can run marathons, and ironmans, and lift cars, and speed down icy hills, and soo much more. A woman’s body is art, the curves, the shape. And frankly I don’t think there is anything more beautiful. I will admit it, I subscribe to Playboy, and it’s not for the quality articles! I like the look of a woman’s body and everything spoken and unspoken that it stands for. In that right, Kim is right. She is allowed to be sexy. She is allowed to be empowered by her body.
That being said… I also get the other side of the argument. See the problem with Kim Kardashian putting her body on display like that to her millions of followers is that, well, she isn’t a true representation of women (I know, I know, you can argue that the photo shopped Playboy models aren’t either). Kim Kardashian is a BRAND and one that she spends millions of dollars to maintain. The average woman doesn’t have the luxury of around the clock nannies, or regular medspa treatments, or a team of professionals whose job it is to make them look good. So what message does it send to the average woman, or average girl, when they see a celebrity, with virtually no flaws, essentially bragging about their perfect body on social media? Especially since Kim was DECEIVING in her post… it wasn’t until after the fact that she comes out with the fact that it was an old, pre-baby photo.
So yes, because Kim is a brand, and this is a fact she is not only very aware of, but also has stated herself, it does make a difference. Women should be celebrated for more than their bodies, because we ARE more than our bodies. Yes, we have magical bodies but we also have great minds. Great minds that have pioneered scientific research, sparked civil rights movements, fought for undeniable human rights, changed healthcare, saved homelands, and more. We are more than just a pretty face, a sexy body. And that should be equally represented.
But all in all, isn’t this “feud” pointless? Aren’t there greater issues at play? Like the fact that social media gives an entirely fake, edited, unrealistic view on real life? So much so that people have unrealistic expectations of each other that spur a hatred that is fundamentally damaging (just look at internet trolls). Like the fact that we don’t care for our environment, the gap between the wealthy and the poor continues to get that much wider, people in 2016 are STILL denied basic human rights, we can’t stop shooting each other, hatred has become a platform we are willing to vote for, and the list goes on!
Here is my point (finally, I know you are thinking). We should all be supporting each other, not tearing each other down. The past few days have played out like a war on social media between beautiful, powerful celebrities. Truth is, whether they like it or are aware of it or not, they are role models. They are our “women of today” and they might fill history books someday. Women have a right to their own bodies and what they do with them. Women have a right to be respected for everything they bring to the table, different to men, but EQUALS. But we all have the responsibility to be decent human beings to each other. Calling each other out on social media platforms is passive aggressive. There are other ways to start these conversations. At the end of the day we all struggle. Life is HARD work. Some of us work more than one job to pay the bills. Some of us are battling life threatening illnesses. Some of us struggle to make ends meet. Some of us have witnessed unspeakable tragedies. Some us of have been beaten down. Some of us are scared to go home. Some of us struggle to be moms, some of us struggle to be alone, some of us struggle to leave. But we are ALL beautiful. We all have the ability to make a difference. We are all a light in someone’s life. And we should just be doing our best to make sure we all make it through ok, because it the end that’s what you leave behind. Not your naked Insta selfies, not your Twitter statements, and definitely not your ability to “break the internet.”
So I finish with this picture of myself to make a point. I tried to attempt Kim’s now famous pose, not exactly successfully. I am not naked, because I have a career that I value quite a bit, but a bikini is pretty close. I have taken it in my bathroom which has HARSH lighting I can tell you. It is perfect for showing every flaw. So here I am, no filters, no makeup, no million square feet bathroom (sorry Kim). I have stretch marks in places I didn’t even know you could get stretchmarks. I have cellulite kind of everywhere. I have marks on my face from overzealous pimple popping. I have a weird stretch of fat under my c-section scar. I luckily remembered to shave my armpits the other day, but here I am bruises, and scars and all. A year ago I wouldn’t have had the guts to show you this. Five years ago, definitely not. And I’m not plastering it on the internet today because I just don’t give a f*** but to make that point that nobody is perfect. We have filters and apps now that can instantly photo shop us and make us look our best. I’m guilty of using them! We live in an edited world where we forget that we are all beautiful. My body is my warrior. It created a baby! It battled Lyme diseases. It’s gained weight and lost weight. It’s seen me through great times and bad times. It’s been adored and it’s been abused. We are all beautiful, flaws and all, naked or not. Love yourself, you are worth it. I am worth it. I want my son to grow up knowing that too. Love and acceptance will get us far further in life in the long run.
