THE PROBLEM WITH HATING THE KARDASHIANS
/
–illustration by ZELDA GALEWSKY
–article by BIANCA BETANCOURT
Editor’s Note: The author of this article understands that Black women come in all shapes, sizes and shades as well as personalities and the questions raised in this article do not reflect the overall opinion of Black women everywhere. It’s merely an opinion article based on personal experiences of the author
Let me start off by saying, I genuinely like Kim Kardashian.
Like her hubby, Kanye West, I’m an admirer of anyone who can build a whole lotta something out of nothing (take Oprah, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez for example.) And let’s not pretend that we all didn’t fall in love with someone with a questionable past at least once–or twice.
Her reality show is entertaining to say the least and I’m not the only one who must find it interesting since E! has renewed it for it’s 10th season for a whopping 80 something million dollar contract agreement.
I find her relationship with her family members genuine, and also, their Kardashian Beauty lipgloss titled “Honey” is one of the few nude shades that ever looked good on me. I digress.
But as Kim and her kin’s family business has exploded in popularity and monetarily, as expected, the hatred surrounding the klan has grown as well.
More than stuffy business women, your mothers and the condescending Barbara Walters’ of the world, there’s a group that stands out above the rest that have a certain distaste for the reality show mogul.
Black women really do not like Kim Kardashian-West. Or any of the Kardashians for that matter.
I’ve noticed it while going through the motions of my daily life–while writing in coffee shops, or eavesdropping on entirely too loud conversations in the classroom in college.
“Did you see that picture Kim posted with Kanye yesterday on Insta?”
“Can you believe what Kendall wore to church yesterday? Church!”
“They all wanna be Black. Every last one of them”
I heard mentions of the famous family everywhere I went, and couldn’t help but notice that people who claimed to hate them the most, talked about them consistently if not constantly.
It’s obvious and let’s be frank about it. This isn’t a hatred of the Kardashians personally but what they represent–the fetishization–and therefore success from it–of the Black identity.
To quote rapper Ja Rule–“it must be the ass”–or at least, that’s what it most definitely started with.
There’s never been a “Black ass” that was celebrated on the same level of a Kardashian ass, though Nicki Minaj and Serena Williams are close contenders.
Their “assets” whether real or not (that’s a debate for another day) are something that made them seem unique in the eyes of the Hollywood media, while Black actresses, entertainers and celebutauntes everywhere rolled their eyes on the sidelines. What they’ve had all along (and naturally) was now “it”, but “it” only was celebrated when it was stuck on caramel tinted skin–and not a shade darker.
It’s evident in the style evolution of the youngest daughter of Kris Jenner, Kylie, whose temporary lip fillers, adoration of Timberland boots and seemingly “adoption” of this style blogger’s look, that there’s a certain lifestyle the youngest sister is trying to emulate.
So I get it. A family became rich off the breeding ground of the Black female physique. But then it gets deeper than that.
Aside from the curves and the marrying off to rich Black men (with the exception of Kourtney–who’s the only Kardashian daughter with a college degree may I add, kudos to you Kourt) the physical similarities of the Kardashians to Black women stop there.
Their Armenian heritage has graced the five daughters with glossy dark hair, creamy cafe au lait skin and bright brown doe shaped eyes. They are characteristics that most Black women don’t inherently have and that often spend far too much money trying to adapt to look so.
So who’s really trying to be who?
Hate sent towards a Kardashian is the same hate that a colored girl will send towards herself because they aren’t physically representing what society has trained them to desire.
Western societal beauty standards have pinned women against each other, constantly trying to be anything that isn’t who they naturally are. It’s why Kim’s butt is so big, and Black girls will spend thousands of dollars on foreign imported hair. It’s why we as women get so “angry” when we see another woman who naturally has what we want–and then we run to the nearest beauty supply store to secretly emulate what we envy.
So whether it’s looks, money, attention or success, the hate comments we throw at even the most infamous of celebrities, is usually deep down a reflection of what we refuse to admit we dislike about ourselves.
