Kardashian sets bad example of beauty standards

By: Kwynn Townsend Riley – Columnist, Junior

What does Kim Kardashian have in common with a 12-day-old McDonald’s cheeseburger? Both are completely nauseating. Moreover, her balloon of a buttock is completely outlandish. Recently, Kim Kardashian has outdone Beyoncé as the most-searched person on the Bing search engine with her nude photoshoot.

Although I am not surprised by our obsessive butt culture, I am shocked that this woman is still relevant.

I agree with Sesali B., my favorite writer on Feministing, an online blog community for young feminists, when she says, “I am aware of my position as a young, black woman in processing Kardashian as a media product and image: This racial component is important because one of my central observations about Kim K is that she is marketed to black women.

Her look is that of the exotic ‘other,’ which we love because we fall for all of the women of color who don’t have too much color. She’s beautiful. Her body is the centerpiece of her media image and much of her fame is credited to the booty behind her.”

The recent nude shoot done by the queen of materialism and butt augmentation has sparked a lot of conversation. The British singer Lorde, a self-prolaimed feminist, recently supported the photos,  saying, “She is allowed to do what she wants” and even said how she would love for Kim Kardashian to be her mother, according to Glamour magazine.

Here is my opinion, as a feminist and a black woman.

These photos are absolutely atrocious and offensive. I support sexual liberation and women who find themselves accepting their bodies. I support the fact that women should be allowed to be comfortable in their own sexuality. But this woman, who rose to fame because of a sex tape, does not deserve such a title as strong or powerful.

Strength should be attributed to women who are survivors, not accommodators, of our over-sexualized society.

The nude photo shoots done by Keira Knightley to spotlight the distortion of magazine covers, or the countless celebrities who have posed nude for the PETA organization are perfect examples of using your body as art and as part of a movement.

That is powerful.

In contrast, Kim’s photo shoot was nothing but a pathetic, desperate announcement for America to give her our attention. It was not art, it was purely a “ta-da! Look at me!” type of cover.

This promiscuous  entrepreneur received initial fame from her sex tape and a failed 72-day marriage. Now she claims she did this photo-shoot as an “art project.”

Pardon me, but this woman is hilariously feebleminded. Kim Kardashian is quintessential to how Americans are obsessed with social media, materialism and appearance.

Can we just go back to the day when beauty was something real, not purchased?