kardashian kopying
By Daniella Haghani
In an age of consumerism, Americans are taught to not only desire and embody the next trend, but to produce at excessive levels towards an unachievable end of profit maximization. With this mentality, producers overlook ethics for monetary gain, to grow and never stop growing. Similarly, consumers are manipulated into thinking that material things will make them feel fulfilled, preventing them from making moral choices.
One sacrificial ethic is appropriation, which frequently gets mistaken for appreciation. Of course, the line between the two is not discrete and defined — in fact, an act of cultural adoption may encompass both ideologies. Nonetheless, it is crucial to delineate the meaning between appreciation and appropriation in order to extrapolate the nuances embedded within an act of praise and/or an act of personal interest. Understanding this distinction allows one to be consciously aware of their personal actions, as well as hold prominent figures accountable for imitating a cultural characteristic without recognizing or addressing its historical implications.
Specifically, the Kardashian clan are notoriously known for appropriation — and yet, they remain influential figures in America and beyond. Some individuals may argue that the Kardashians appreciate Black aesthetics: for example, when some of them style their hair in box braids, or that dating Black men excuses them from criticism of appropriation. Although these two examples have respective arguments against them, I want to address the common trope of “Kardashian Kopying” through a business perspective.
Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner market themselves as curvy, voluptuous, and sexually appealing women through the fabrication and promotion of their bodies: wide hips, thin waists, plump lips, and big butts — all features embodied by or associated with the stereotypical Black female figure.
It is not to say that the Kardashians can not surgically or cosmetically change their bodies as they please, yet it is important to address that they capitalize on generalized Black feminine aesthetics as white-passing females, while Black women have been historically hyper-sexualized, disdained, and demonized for embodying such characteristics: an intersectional experience they collectively share and understand. All the while, the Kardashians receive praise and admiration for their fabricated facial features and figure. Girls want to be them!
Journalist Wanna Thompson coined the term “Blackfishing” as “white girls cosplaying as Black women,” and it has been repeatedly associated with the Kardashian family. From more obvious examples of appropriation, from “starting the wig trend” and wearing grills, to more implicit representations, such as putting on heavily countered, dark makeup and surgically constructing their bodies into an hourglass figure, the Kardashians exemplify the normalization of Blackfishing — so much so that many of us fail to notice their imitation of Black femininity.
Kim’s Skims collection portrays the outlining and highlighting of the hourglass figure. Kim’s body is the catalyst of her business’s fortune, primarily due to the glorification of her curves. Let us not forget the appropriation scandal that happened prior to its launch: the naming of the brand as Kimono. And still, she succeeds.
Kim’s outfit choice for the 2021 Met Gala shows her awareness of her powerful body. Covered up head to toe in a black garment that perfectly traces her body, the public was able to recognize her by the outline of her lips, of her curves, etc. This conveys the popularity of her figure, to the point, one may say, that she “colonizes” the stereotypical Black female figure. Essentially, Kim said, “I am America,” or “My body is America.” Of course, this move was purposeful to perpetuate her popularity and make profit.
Kylie Cosmetics, specifically its lip kits, was marketed by Kylie’s lip injections. Similar to Kim assuming the hourglass figure, Kylie Jenner is the personage of full and plump lips.
Some may say these examples are a stretch, or there is no connection that lies between the fabrication of the Kardashian bodies and the appropriation of the stereotypical Black female body — and this very well may be true. It is still important to analyze the discrepancy between the adoration of the Kardashian body and the historical stigmatization of the Black female body as promiscuous, rapeable, and unattractive — and how the former is capable of not only profiting off of their physicality, but redefining the image of femininity while appropriating the Black female body, unconsciously or consciously.
This does not mean that the Kardashian body is superior, or that an aesthetic or feature is inherently good or bad, depending on the person who embodies such a trait. Rather, the Kardashians are the archetypes of the hourglass figure, plump lips, and the big butt, while many (but not all) Black females have personified these features for decades, yet received judgement and harassment for it.
A difference also lies in the fact that unlike the experiences of Black women, the Kardashians willingly desire and accept the objectification of their bodies and negative criticisms of their character, for any publicity is good publicity in regards to their standing in Hollywood, as well as the continued success of their businesses.
Khloe Kardashian exemplifies a more explicit form of copying when she purposefully stole the designs of Black designer, Destiney Bleu, for Good American. Not only did Khloe deny the allegations, but she filed a desist letter for defamation against Bleu. This does not represent cultural appropriation, but it does prove once again the common Kardashian behavior of copying for profit, without giving recognition to the original creator.
Let us not forget Kendall Jenner’s 818 commercial. It was not enough for her to “whiten” the brand by naming it after a Los Angeles area code, but the choices she and her marketing team made in regards to wardrobe and setting were problematic alone: wearing pigtail braids, a cowboy hat, and highly contoured, tan makeup, while sipping tequila on the back of a pickup truck glamorizes and minimizes the experience of actual field workers. She claims to have educated herself about the process of tequila manufacturing, yet depicts it in a laid back, chic way. Through stereotypical imagery, Jenner’s appropriation of Mexican culture again connotes the disregard for understanding and appreciating another culture in exchange for making profit.
Does the fault lie in the consumer, praising and generating profit toward the Kardashian body? Or, do the Kardashians make deliberate immoral choices, like mimicking stereotypical Black feminine features, for monetary gain?
It is possible that the glorification of the Kardashian body, and supporting the family in general, has more to say about society than the Kardashians themselves. Not only should the powerful producer follow the path of moralistic pursuit, but the consumer must choose whether or not to support the unethical endeavors of prominent figures and big businesses.
Being aware of the difference between appreciation and appropriation is one of the ways in which we can be conscious consumers. The consumer also must choose whether to indulge in a momentary act of gratification, or to resist the Kardashian schema of appropriation and the idolization of their bodies.
Works Cited:
https://time.com/6072750/kardashians-blackfishing-appropriation/
https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a27683/kardashian-enterprises-cultural-appropriation/
One sacrificial ethic is appropriation, which frequently gets mistaken for appreciation. Of course, the line between the two is not discrete and defined — in fact, an act of cultural adoption may encompass both ideologies. Nonetheless, it is crucial to delineate the meaning between appreciation and appropriation in order to extrapolate the nuances embedded within an act of praise and/or an act of personal interest. Understanding this distinction allows one to be consciously aware of their personal actions, as well as hold prominent figures accountable for imitating a cultural characteristic without recognizing or addressing its historical implications.
Specifically, the Kardashian clan are notoriously known for appropriation — and yet, they remain influential figures in America and beyond. Some individuals may argue that the Kardashians appreciate Black aesthetics: for example, when some of them style their hair in box braids, or that dating Black men excuses them from criticism of appropriation. Although these two examples have respective arguments against them, I want to address the common trope of “Kardashian Kopying” through a business perspective.
Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner market themselves as curvy, voluptuous, and sexually appealing women through the fabrication and promotion of their bodies: wide hips, thin waists, plump lips, and big butts — all features embodied by or associated with the stereotypical Black female figure.
It is not to say that the Kardashians can not surgically or cosmetically change their bodies as they please, yet it is important to address that they capitalize on generalized Black feminine aesthetics as white-passing females, while Black women have been historically hyper-sexualized, disdained, and demonized for embodying such characteristics: an intersectional experience they collectively share and understand. All the while, the Kardashians receive praise and admiration for their fabricated facial features and figure. Girls want to be them!
Journalist Wanna Thompson coined the term “Blackfishing” as “white girls cosplaying as Black women,” and it has been repeatedly associated with the Kardashian family. From more obvious examples of appropriation, from “starting the wig trend” and wearing grills, to more implicit representations, such as putting on heavily countered, dark makeup and surgically constructing their bodies into an hourglass figure, the Kardashians exemplify the normalization of Blackfishing — so much so that many of us fail to notice their imitation of Black femininity.
Kim’s Skims collection portrays the outlining and highlighting of the hourglass figure. Kim’s body is the catalyst of her business’s fortune, primarily due to the glorification of her curves. Let us not forget the appropriation scandal that happened prior to its launch: the naming of the brand as Kimono. And still, she succeeds.
Kim’s outfit choice for the 2021 Met Gala shows her awareness of her powerful body. Covered up head to toe in a black garment that perfectly traces her body, the public was able to recognize her by the outline of her lips, of her curves, etc. This conveys the popularity of her figure, to the point, one may say, that she “colonizes” the stereotypical Black female figure. Essentially, Kim said, “I am America,” or “My body is America.” Of course, this move was purposeful to perpetuate her popularity and make profit.
Kylie Cosmetics, specifically its lip kits, was marketed by Kylie’s lip injections. Similar to Kim assuming the hourglass figure, Kylie Jenner is the personage of full and plump lips.
Some may say these examples are a stretch, or there is no connection that lies between the fabrication of the Kardashian bodies and the appropriation of the stereotypical Black female body — and this very well may be true. It is still important to analyze the discrepancy between the adoration of the Kardashian body and the historical stigmatization of the Black female body as promiscuous, rapeable, and unattractive — and how the former is capable of not only profiting off of their physicality, but redefining the image of femininity while appropriating the Black female body, unconsciously or consciously.
This does not mean that the Kardashian body is superior, or that an aesthetic or feature is inherently good or bad, depending on the person who embodies such a trait. Rather, the Kardashians are the archetypes of the hourglass figure, plump lips, and the big butt, while many (but not all) Black females have personified these features for decades, yet received judgement and harassment for it.
A difference also lies in the fact that unlike the experiences of Black women, the Kardashians willingly desire and accept the objectification of their bodies and negative criticisms of their character, for any publicity is good publicity in regards to their standing in Hollywood, as well as the continued success of their businesses.
Khloe Kardashian exemplifies a more explicit form of copying when she purposefully stole the designs of Black designer, Destiney Bleu, for Good American. Not only did Khloe deny the allegations, but she filed a desist letter for defamation against Bleu. This does not represent cultural appropriation, but it does prove once again the common Kardashian behavior of copying for profit, without giving recognition to the original creator.
Let us not forget Kendall Jenner’s 818 commercial. It was not enough for her to “whiten” the brand by naming it after a Los Angeles area code, but the choices she and her marketing team made in regards to wardrobe and setting were problematic alone: wearing pigtail braids, a cowboy hat, and highly contoured, tan makeup, while sipping tequila on the back of a pickup truck glamorizes and minimizes the experience of actual field workers. She claims to have educated herself about the process of tequila manufacturing, yet depicts it in a laid back, chic way. Through stereotypical imagery, Jenner’s appropriation of Mexican culture again connotes the disregard for understanding and appreciating another culture in exchange for making profit.
Does the fault lie in the consumer, praising and generating profit toward the Kardashian body? Or, do the Kardashians make deliberate immoral choices, like mimicking stereotypical Black feminine features, for monetary gain?
It is possible that the glorification of the Kardashian body, and supporting the family in general, has more to say about society than the Kardashians themselves. Not only should the powerful producer follow the path of moralistic pursuit, but the consumer must choose whether or not to support the unethical endeavors of prominent figures and big businesses.
Being aware of the difference between appreciation and appropriation is one of the ways in which we can be conscious consumers. The consumer also must choose whether to indulge in a momentary act of gratification, or to resist the Kardashian schema of appropriation and the idolization of their bodies.
Works Cited:
https://time.com/6072750/kardashians-blackfishing-appropriation/
https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/news/a27683/kardashian-enterprises-cultural-appropriation/