Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian
Whether you love them without shame or keep up clandestinely...the Kardashians still dominate popular culture and are going strong. You’d have to be living under a rock to not know what that means: There’s a TV show, a brand and fame that would have been unfathomable before the Internet. Their massive following is one that modern social media promotes and perpetuates again and again. The looks and ever-changing styles crop up daily through various platforms (i.e. Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram) and the age difference between the Kardashian girls and their half-sisters the Jenners - who have their own story lines on the show - are an asset to the longevity of the whole package deal delivered to us as “entertainment” rooted in real life.
Kendall (Jenner) is one of the “it” models of the moment and then there’s Kylie, a camera-loving chameleon with her name attached to a profitably selling lip kit. It feels like she was a toddler just yesterday, but her clear role model, half-sis Kim, has paved the way for the sexuality she currently exudes via her very public persona.
There have been a few “landmark” episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians that have endeared these sometimes seemingly-vapid and out of touch sisters to the masses. It is in these well-edited episodes, between couture events and paparazzi-trailed trips, that we see the real pains of life and particularly, life in the brightest, most migraine-inducing spotlight.
This season, we saw Kim’s reaction to a terrifying Paris robbery, her very real fear that she would die, sister Kourtney would find her body and that her children would be left motherless. What followed were the intense anxieties about reemerging publicly, trusting humankind as one did before unexpected terror. In another episode, Caitlyn is scrutinized for her memoir which is critical of Kris. It sinks in for viewers that we have given Caitlyn so many chances to be a role model, but she has so disappointed the family - and in turn, us.
In the past, the show has also dealt with loss (from Robert Kardashian Senior through the flashback effect of old home movies to the loss of “Bruce” to the demise of marriages and relationships). We see the frustrations, the neuroses (from a reaction to discovering psoriasis runs in the family to the in-flight panic attacks plaguing jet-set supermodel Kendall) and the difficulties.
But then we turn to social media and the pictures make us laugh, or they irk us tremendously, or just get us talking in some objective manner -- as if the Kardashians are reminding us to objectify them and not take everything so goddamn seriously.
A recent tweet of Kourtney’s that may have rubbed some people the wrong way. My response: “Easy to say when you’re a Kardashian!”
BODY ACCEPTANCE, REALISTIC FIGURES AND CURVES
As a child who grew up in the 80s well before social media, my source for body and beauty info was mainly monthly magazines. In the early 90s, Kate Moss and waif-like copy cats were commanding the most exposure through print advertising. Although the plus size modeling industry actually formed in the 1970s, the names of plus size models were not on the tips of our tongues the way “Ashley Graham” is today. We’ve made a lot of progress when a plus-size model stands alongside skinny “supermodels” (including Kendall Jenner) on the cover of Vogue Magazine.
Ashley Graham, second from left, poses with other models including Kendall Jenner (third from left), Gigi Hadid (to the right of Kendall) and Karlie Kloss (far right). This is significant as Graham is the most accepted and acclaimed plus size model by the mainstream media to date.
I think the Kardashians had a huge influence in shaping societal acceptance of curves because of how often we see their non-skeletal bodies and how confident in these bodies they are. Although Kendall Jenner belongs to the elite clique of waifs, it was the more voluptuous Kim and Khloe Kardashian (her half sisters) that continuously appeared (and currently reappear) in print and online media. It’s realistic to have curves. This is a message our mothers may have told us as the Lifetime channel unwittingly glorified bulimia in a popular made for TV movie (ask any girl who was 17 in 1991). More recently, it is the message we have been able to tell ourselves as Kim K copycats crop up on Twitter in outfits that enhance their assets. There is more confidence in being natural and feminine and actually having flesh today than I remember there being in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
“I think you're spot on with the body image positivity that the Kardashians brought,” says comedian and writer Danny Pellegrino. “That is, as long as it is about acceptance of more attainable bodies. Unfortunately though, I think we are going in the opposite direction now with people trying to emulate the Kardashian curves via surgical enhancements. It seems to me that (for some) it's become less about embracing what you have and more about creating a body that looks like theirs.”
“They are stunning, stunning women,” says Marcy Jarreau, who co-hosts a podcast dedicated to delving into all things Kardashian, aptly titled Kar Dishin’ It. “While they are objectified, it’s really important to see that they are the ones profiting from it! If that’s not modern feminism, I don’t know what is. And it’s not perfect feminism, but I think that’s attainable. It pisses me off when people expect perfection during progress - which this family symbolizes for me.”
WORK ETHIC – IT’S A MISNOMER THAT THE KARDASHIANS ARE FAMOUS FOR “DOING NOTHING”
“I DO think they have shown great work ethic throughout the years,” adds Pellegrino, “People hate on them for ‘not having talent,’ but the truth is their talent is making money. They have pivoted their careers to make money and build their brand. I think that has taught young people to be entrepreneurs in ways we previously never thought possible. People are smart enough to see that Kim may have started the Kardashian brand with a sex tape, but it was how determined and steadfast both she and (mama) Kris were after the sex tape that made the brand thrive. As a society, we've seen other people get famous via sex tapes and viral videos. We’ve seen people become YouTube stars. If the Kardashians and these new types of celebrities did not have to work hard AFTER those moments that made them famous, they would have fallen by the wayside.
The Kardashians have survived so many years in the industry because they have continually built upon their brand every step of the way. Kris in particular should be singled out as the brains behind the operation. She is the powerful "momager” and when she was growing up, she didn't have all that many powerful business women on TV to aspire to be.”
KNOW YOUR LANE
Adds my funny friend, pop culture enthusiast Kara Berry (@KaraBTweets): “They're really good about controlling their own narrative - it's rare that they engage in drama with others and when they do, they win.” She adds that one thing she has learned from them is the rule of ‘Know your lane.’ “So many celebrities try to get into music or acting and while they've somewhat dipped their toes in that, I think their longevity has really been from sticking to fashion and beauty while having their own individual ‘thing’ (Khloe with fitness, Kylie has the younger Millennials for beauty/makeup, Kendall is in high fashion). Every girl has their own look - their own thing - and you can't say you don't appreciate what at least one of them is doing.”
WHY WE IDENTIFY WITH THEM
“The Kardashians have given us countless gifs and memes that put smiles on the faces of millions of people every day,” says Pellegrino, “The reason they are so popular among the online community is because of the stigma they have had to fight in the public for years. The idea that they're lazy and entitled has made others identify with them in a way they wouldn't if the Kardashians were highbrow public figures. The Kardashians (and Housewives de Bravo) are simultaneously the parts of ourselves that we are horrified of and what we aspire to be. This makes them highly gif and meme-able.”
Tricia Alperin, Marcy Jarreau’s co-host (along with Jessica Jean Jardine) of Kar Dishin’ It relates that as a new mom she feels very impacted by all the versions of motherhood the Kardashians portray:
“We’ve seen everything from Khloe’s infertility fears to Chyna filming her C Section to Kris being a bad-ass Momager to Kourtney having multiple babies (now, she’s a single mom) to Kim becoming an amazing mom while maintaining her elite-sex-symbol status.
Work and life balance and juggling is a common storyline on television, but here we see ‘mom was just robbed at gunpoint in Paris and flew back to NY in the dark of night and is riding up an elevator with her famous rapper husband. Now she’s going to put on a brave face for her kids.’”
Adds Jarreau: “The thing that always gets me about the Kardashians is how strong of a family they seem to be. They fight and make fun of each other, but at the end of the day they have each other’s backs so fiercely. They also uniquely always acknowledge the elephants in the room, maybe it’s for episodic effect, but the ability to actually speak to grievances rather than just breed resentment is so powerful.”
“Sometimes I feel floored by how rarely people acknowledge the unbelievable social influence this small group of people has had on the world,” adds Jessica Jean Jardine, the third Kar Dishin’ It cohost, “What I see as the most important takeaway from the Kardashians is understanding how they represent a simultaneous mix of aspirational and attainable for so many people around the world. They have built a literal empire on challenging people’s notions of fame, body, skill, sexuality, motherhood, wealth, family dysfunction, divorce, grieving and so much more. They sit at the literal epicenter of culture in this moment in time, straddling everything from entertainment to sports to music to fashion — especially via their life partners and myriad of business ventures. They are regularly dragged through the mud, shamed for their bodies and lifestyles, and generally derided on a large scale, but they keep moving forward and living their lives as loud and proud as they want to (cashing checks along the way). They give us incredible access and show us what the balance of real family connection and enormous success might actually look like. This is a rarity in today’s celebrity landscape. They admit their flaws publicly while celebrating exactly what people most want them to atone for, and THAT’S an attitude I stand behind.”
WHAT FAITHFUL KUWTK VIEWERS SEE, WHAT THOSE VIEWERS TRULY DESIRE
Comedian, writer and actor Ryan Bailey, who was recently a guest on the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast, reflects on the Kardashians over the years:
“Consider everything this family has gone through in the last decade: relationships and divorces, intense weight struggles, complete body transformations, Transitioning, Drug abuse (Lamar Odom), plastic surgeries, business empires and now, we've already had ‘held at gunpoint in a million dollar robbery.’ Then there is a mental breakdown (Kanye) and a massive political correctness blunder (Kendall's Pepsi ad). More things have happened to this family than most families deal with in a lifetime. The one constant is their bonds with each other. They are stuck together like glue and despite jokes I can make about their vapid desires for fame and fortune, nothing makes that statement less true. They really do have each other and I think America, on top of wanting to look like them and have their money, sees that and wants to emulate those truly unique bonds.”
FUNNY FOOTNOTES TO THE ABOVE: LESSONS I’VE LEARNED FROM THE KARDASHIANS by writer and pop culture blogger Nell Kalter http://www.nellkalter.com/theblog/
1. Any trend, no matter how questionable, can be popularized if an entire family commits. This scenario includes, but is not limited to, fake lip rings, nails that could puncture and then kill you if you inch too close, and plastic surgery you will swear is the result of excellent contouring.
2. Voices that contain absolutely no inflection are more powerful than they initially seem. When Kourtney speaks of the demise of her relationship and there’s zero lilt or fall in octave, what eventually transpires for the viewer is that he or she is left to engage with a human blank slate upon which one projects his or her own emotions and reactions to fill the emptiness. This act causes the onscreen moment – the one that in no way impacts the viewer’s real life – with some sort of personal stake.
3. No kitchen is a proper kitchen unless it's outfitted with enormous glass jars crammed with symmetrically stacked cookies. I recently wandered into the kitchen of a man I know and I saw no large jars filled with carbs and I could not stop myself from wondering, "Is this guy a Neanderthal?"
4. By the time twelve seasons and countless spin-offs have rolled by, it’s possible to say about your husband who has just suffered a breakdown, "I just feel so sad. It's going to be, like, so public," while a camera is pointed at you as you recline in bed. On a related note, by the time twelve seasons roll by, the meaning of the word irony has splintered away into nothingness.
5. Being “real” will make viewers form some very strong opinions. In that light, I'm gonna toss out that I like Khloe. I find her honest, blunt, and clearly armed with a steely strength and a sharp sense of humor. Her capacity for loyalty is almost staggering. I know some felt she exploited her former husband’s overdose and recovery; I didn’t. I viewed her actions and her carefully guarded comments about such a hideous situation as both brave and intelligent. Before they broke up – and while Lamar was rumored to be a full-blown crack addict – I remember Khloe remarking that she enjoyed working because, "As soon as I go home I'm a shattered person." The rest of the family typically speaks of publicized tragedies in broad strokes; they rarely get specific, even after they’ve signed contract after contract to be publicly consumed. Khloe seems to be the only one willing to commit to the entire equation and she comes off stronger for it.
6. There is no ‘going-too-far’ anymore. I remember reading about how a close-up of a toilet flushing in Psycho back in 1960 was scandalous. Those days are deader than that lady in the shower because nothing's off limits now. We've seen Kourtney pull newborns out of her vagina, a smell-off between sisters, anal leakage courtesy of an enema...That we haven’t yet seen a close-up of one of their used tampons being flushed is actually stunning to me, but since they’re signed on to appear on this show until some point in the middle of the next century, perhaps this just means there’s something to look forward to.
7. Nobody will notice how shallow your conversations are if you toss the word "like" into every sentence at least nine times (scientifically speaking, it's gotta be nine) as you eat bites of a very large salad out of a plastic container while blinking slowly to accommodate the feather dusters glued to your eyelids. The combination of lettuce, lashes as long as my most well-endowed paramour, and sentiments that often go nowhere and are accompanied by the tap-tap-click of talon-like nails moving quickly across the screen of an iPhone will lull even the most astute viewer into a fugue state. You will believe you’ve just seen and heard something profound. Or, you will start craving a salad. In either case, your concentration will be focused on anything except the fact that you just watched a televised conversation about absolutely nothing.
8. Viewers don't require a full story anymore. We’re in an era of fill-in-the-blank entertainment. Therefore, Kim can sit on a couch and explain that Kanye needs some rest, but she’s not required to say anything of substance about an incredibly substantial problem. The loyal viewers of this show who have already read every article in US Weekly will mentally fill Kim’s dramatic pauses and her silence with information they already know. On some very warped level, Keeping Up With the Kardashians is the single most interactive viewing experience in modern times.
9. How you look matters far more than what you have to say. This statement – which actually pains me to say – is not universal, but in this particular fame game of shame, the blame must be placed on those who offer little more than shifting hair color and a persona that can most kindly be described as bland. Kylie, whose popularity has most recently skyrocketed, has rarely uttered anything of substance. Maybe she’s an absolute riot around her friends. Maybe her capacity for silliness or her secret ability to quote Proust is something she's saving for her upcoming spin-off, but from what I've seen, she does little more than pose, pucker, pout, preen, and utter half-sentences while staring at her phone. Even when something impressive happens – like when her lip kits sold out – there was no joy radiating out of her.
I can appreciate if Kylie wants to be guarded as she navigates a bizarre universe she was thrust into before she could legitimately offer consent, but this barely post-adolescent has a huge following of ‘fans’ for reasons I cannot fathom. Are all these people fans of her lips? Are they fans of makeup in general? Shouldn’t such an equation mean that Sephora should have as many Instagram followers? And with her brother impregnating and getting engaged and then getting un-engaged to the ex of her most recent ex, shouldn't Kylie have something interesting to say??!! I mean, if you're famous not for any talent but because of the life you’re willing to feed to a ravenous viewership, maybe sometimes you should say something that’s actually reflective about that life.