My Totally Justified Kardashian Obsession

Here’s my passionate rant – I shouldn’t even have to write an article explaining why I love the Kardashians. It is so annoying that I have to hide in shame from the Notre Dame community every time I say “Kim” or “Kylie” (or Khloe, Kris, Kendall, Kourtney, Scott, etc.). So here it is, HCND. My name is Chloe Honey Moreno, I’m a sophomore Political Science major and I love to talk about my obsession with the Kardashian/Jenner family.

 

I’m also absolutely not ashamed of it. I should never be intellectually shamed by the Notre Dame community for this, but I’m actually constantly talked down to by a very select population for liking them (and by select population, I am referring to intellectual elitists). They may not be making huge contributions to the scientific/political community, and you may not like them (which is okay with me) but I will not be told that the Kardashians are worthless and do not contribute anything to society. These are the intellectual reasons why the Kardashians are absolute GENIUSES.  

 

 

The most recent source that I could find completely outlining the Kardashian empire was unfortunatly published in 2013, so it is important to note that the numbers listed need to be rounded up to compensate for when Kylie and Kendall began working on their own careers apart from the family and the family began making #hellacash with their new apps. According to the Huffington Post, The Kardashians were worth a whopping $80 billion with Kim’s net worth totaling approximately half of that. In this same article, it is pointed out that the family makes a majority of this income from their contract for Keeping Up With the Kardashians, public appearances, their clothing line, endorsements, tweets, and even perfumes.

 

“Momager” extraordinaire Kris Jenner has been able to make all of this possible for her children. People who argue that “they’re only famous because of the sex tape” are ignorant. That may have been the catalyst, but this family turned their 15 minutes of fame into a household name. You can’t do that unless you know the supply and demand of the industry like the back of your hand, and Kris Jenner certainly knows how to capitalize on key aspects of the industry in order to keep her family relevant.  

 

 

 

The Kardashians are also fashion icons that embody the brand they’ve created. Kim is the extravagant one, Kourtney is the earthy-chic one, Khloe is the bad a** workout queen, Kendall is the super model, and Kylie is the outrageous trendsetter.

 

There is a look and a lifestyle that everyone can relate to with at least one of these girls. When Kim and her glam squad (#squadgoals) started contouring, the whole world exploded trying to do the same. When Kylie started lining her lips, lip liners and deep browns became trendy once again. People even started eating their own placentas! Whatever the Kardashians did the whole world wanted to do, and the Kardashians have successfully reached an unparralleled leavel of pop culture appeal.

 

 

 

The sisters each have a lifestyle app that subscribers must pay $3 per month to access. According to a CNN article, Kylie Jenner’s app is projected to be the most successful of the apps, supposedly predicted to amount to $15 million in the first year alone. The fact that the sisters have been able to tap into yet another industry (and such a tricky one at that) and find continued success shows the uncanny ability and resourcefulness of this family. 

 

The Kardashians can turn literally “nothing” into a global trend. Hate on the Kardashians. Hate on the principles that they stand for, but don’t ever call them or their supporters stupid. A la Kourtney, you’re literally like, so rude when you do that. Get off your intellectual high horse, and just let people live for what they love, just like me and my dream sisters do on a daily basis. 

 

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

Sources: 1, 2