Lately, the majority of what I’ve seen about Kylie Jenner in the media has been negative. People turn her into the punch line of jokes constantly, they compare her to her sisters, and they belittle her as a person. People don’t just talk about Kylie Jenner; people rip her apart. Kylie is only 18 years old. She is at the same place in her life that we are. Yet, we spend our valuable time saying vicious things about her body, her relationships, and her money. I’m tired of talking about Kylie because no one ever has anything positive to say. So I’ll start now.
As a feminist, I firmly believe in body positivity, self-love, and empowering women to be who they want to be no matter what anyone thinks. I hope I’m not the only person who feels this way. So why when I scroll through Instagram every day do I see comments on Kylie’s pictures criticizing what she wears and how she acts? Female empowerment doesn’t mean only empowering females whose choices you agree with. Kylie is confident in herself and her body, and she shows it off because she has every right to. She also has the right to alter any aspect of her physical appearance that she sees fit, regardless of how others feel about that decision (this includes plumping her lips if she wants to). It is her body; it is her decision.
Moving on from physical appearances, Ms. Jenner still has more to offer. Kylie graduated from high school this year (a full year earlier than she was scheduled to). Now, some of us college ladies may not see high school as a huge achievement, but Kylie already had a killer career. She by no means had to continue to study to get a job or to make a better life for herself, but she did anyway. That is admirable. In addition to an ever-expanding role on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kylie has a clothing line with sister Kendall, K&K for PACSUN. The Jenner sisters were also co-authors on their debut novel, Rebels: City of Indra: The Story of Lex and Livia, which was released in 2014. (The novel’s success is questionable at best, and they might have received help from a ghost author – but hey, they still wrote a book, right?) Kylie also has her own line of hair extensions with Bellami Hair, and still finds time to host events and parties all over the world. Girl has it together. For real.
Possibly the most convincing reason to give Kylie a break is her recent Instragram campaign, #IAmMoreThan, which she used to shine a spotlight on individuals who have stood up to bullying and proved that they are more than their insecurities. Kylie highlighted two boys who stood up to judgmental high schoolers by going to prom together, a plus size model who is defeating the idea that there is only one kind of beautiful, a YouTuber who is magic with makeup and covers the acne that she struggles with, and two young women with different, rare diseases that have left them both outside the traditional lines of beauty. Kylie is using her celebrity to expose her followers to the ugly truth of the world and the judgment that we all endure. #IAmMoreThan was originally launched in the first week of September 2015, but Kylie has since stated that she will continue the campaign every Tuesday.
So why are we so quick to judge a teenager so harshly? Because she’s in the spotlight where she is vulnerable to our criticism? Maybe. Because she makes choices that some of us would make differently? Probably. Because we spend too much time worrying about people who have no idea that we even exist to distract ourselves from the mountains of homework piling up on our desks? Yes. From one teenager struggling to find her way in the world to another, keep doing you, Kylie. That’s all anyone should ever ask you to do.