Last week, Kim Kardashian successfully “broke the internet” yet again with a naked selfie. The image, which currently has over 1,600,000 likes, shows the reality TV star and businesswoman posing in front of a bathroom mirror, with nothing but black bars edited onto the picture to cover her breasts and genitals.
Immediately, the criticism began.
Kim Kardashian knows exactly how to get us talking, and the usual debates ensued: was Kim promoting self-love and positive body image, or was she over-sexualising herself, sending a dangerous image to female fans?
British actress Chloe Moretz was one of many people who were not impressed: “I truly hope you realize how important setting goals are for young women, teaching them we have so much more to offer than just our bodies,” she wrote.
Kim bounced back and defended herself, posting an online essay on International Women’s Day.
She wrote, “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.”
“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.”
(Photo Credit: @kimkardashian)
Kim’s selfie has brought the issues of slut-shaming and body-shaming to the forefront of the mainstream media. These are problems which affects a huge number of females, from British schoolgirls to Californian celebrities.
However, is Kim’s selfie just another plea for approval and validation from her followers? Our modern attitudes to the self and body-image are so intimately bound up with social media nowadays. Instagram is a breeding ground for low self-esteem, as we are bombarded with pictures of “beautiful” people who are supposed to be “#goals”. We post photos of ourselves, counting the number of likes, feeling that secret sense of accomplishment.
Is the selfie a bit of harmless fun, or is it a reflection of our image-obsessed society?
On the one hand, Kim’s selfie confirms her perceived status as a sexual object, famous for that tape. She is not known for her savvy business skills, but her bum; some would say that this image perpetuates that view of her.
However, for celebrities who constantly have power over their body robbed from them by the paparazzi, stalking them and taking photos without permission, the selfie is a way of regaining that control. The selfie is a statement which says “this is the way I want to portray myself and my body”.
(Photo Credit: nydailynews)
It’s time to end the judgement women face for being openly sexual and unashamedly confident. The idea that we all need to be “modest” in order to be respected is ridiculous. Arrogance is a quality which is accepted, even admired in men. When Justin Bieber posts a selfie in his underwear, the comments are notably different, most containing confessions of love or heart-eye emojis.
(Photo Credit: @justinbieber)
This reflects the contradictory attitudes to the male and female bodies. As soon as a woman chooses to reveal her body to the world, she becomes public property. She is a “slut”, a complete misuse of the derogatory term; the way that this word is used so frequently in casual conversation is quite disturbing. What’s worse is the idea that anyone should have a right to comment on a woman’s private sexual activity at all!
Why is it that women are judged so harshly for their number of sexual partners, how they dress and how they choose to present their body, in real life and online, whereas men face little scrutiny. Of course there are deeply rooted problems with conceptions of masculinity, but it seems like women constantly receive abuse whenever they express their sexuality.
Whether you see Kim’s selfie as negative or not, you can’t deny that it was a smart business and publicity move. After all, you just read another 700 words about her.