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Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
by Amy Richmond
When the infamous Instagram egg overtook Kylie Jenner to become the most liked picture on the platform, I will admit I was a little smug. As a self-proclaimed Kardashian-phobe, I felt a fair amount of satisfaction in Kylie’s photo being surpassed by something as mundane as an egg. It felt like the cult of Kardashian is losing some power and influence, and let’s be honest we all need a break from them. All the hyper-sexualised, hyper-edited hyped up narcissism in their social media accounts leaves a rotten taste in the mouth. The whole Kardashian clan make ridiculous sums of money on social media advertising, most of which seem to focus on health and beauty, and some of them are, well, problematic at best.
One of the repeat offenders is Flat Tummy Co that boasts various assortments of “appetite suppressant” and “detoxing” products with the aim of losing weight. The company’s most visible campaigns are via social media influencers. The newest product ‘Shake it Baby’ meal replacement milkshake has been splashed across Instagram by a horde of basic bitches. This is the sort of product that doesn’t sit well with somebody who has suffered with body confidence issues and had problems with my relationship with food as a result of that.
This is all representative of a toxic wider culture.
If young people are constantly shown images of an ‘ideal body’ and are then shown a tool to achieve that body many will see it as a good idea and develop unhealthy behaviours as a result of that.
Disregarding the potential issues that could arise, the programme itself is misleading and dangerous. For one thing, the element credited with being the magic weight loss ingredient is ‘Super CitriMax’ which contains hydroxycitric acid in a fruit called garcinia cambogia. This has been discredited as a weight loss tool by the National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health due to the lack of “convincing evidence”. There is also the concerning fact that this milkshake - that is supposed to replace a full meal - only counts for 120 calories, which is 18% of the lowest number of calories recommended for a meal.
It is incredibly irresponsible for influencers and celebrities such as the Kardashians to promote products that lack the scientific evidence that prove they achieve what the claim to, and that encourage unhealthy relationships with food.
But anything to maintain their image, am I right? The truth is that unfortunately their image is influential and could therefore also have a dangerous impact on their impressionable audience. Not only could they promote narcissistic and superficial behaviours that focus on familial infighting and bitching, but also encourage an unhealthy focus on body image. The issue is that the image they present is practically unattainable via any natural means but is suggested as being genuine. In reality, many of the Kardashian family have undergone cosmetic surgery. Kim came under fire in 2018 when the ‘Brazilian butt lift’ surgery she underwent caused significant controversy. Many women were travelling abroad to get the surgery cheaply and as a result of dangerous and unreliable surgeons, two British women died after the botched surgery. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons released the statistic that 1 in 3,000 people worldwide travelling abroad for cheaper cosmetic surgery are dying. By promoting a body image that is naturally unattainable, the susceptible fans of the Kardashians are turning to dangerous behaviours and actions in order to permanently alter their bodies to suit this unattainable ideal. The Kardashians lack responsibility and blatantly ignore the negative impact they can have on their fans via their actions.
Another concerning factor about how they present themselves is their extreme self-sexualisation.
The family have managed to sprout a multibillion career after a ‘leaked’ sex tape and have based the entirety of it on selling their bodies and image as a product.
They have modified their image to be representative of the ‘ideal female body’ to men which is concerning as they play into the patriarchal narrative of women as objects for sex. They present the archaic image of women as less intelligent by being vapid and airheaded, when, even I can acknowledge, Kris Jenner is incredibly calculating and has made very smart decisions that catapulted her family to success.
I would respect and appreciate the hard work of the family more if they acknowledged and celebrated their own intellect rather than placing higher value on superficial things. There are more important things than having a specific body type, even for the Kardashians.
