4/7/2019 Research Paper 2010 - Google Docs

Carmen Sandoval

English 2010

Ortega

Mar. 11, 2019

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The Kardashians: Icons in the Making

Anybody that keeps up with the latest trends in pop culture should know who the

Kardashians are. They are a household staple name and one of the most famous families in

Hollywood. Each sister has garnered millions of followers on all their social media platforms.

With such a big fan base is it hard to believe that the Kardashians are one of the most hated

celebrities of all time. Kim Kardashian can’t seem to accomplish anything without viewers

reminding her what sex tape made her who she is. Her sister, Kylie Jenner, received a lot of

backlash when she was named the youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes in 2019. With

viewers exclaiming what is so ‘self-made’ about her. The success behind the Kardashians and the

fascination that millions of viewers have is because they don’t represent the “normal” body

image that has been portrayed in the media for years. Not only are the Kardashians open about

their lives and bodies but they have gained a fortune with the businesses that they have created.

Although many critics believe that the Kardashians are bad role models because they use

their platform to sell an unrealistic body image to young women and girls. Kim and Khloe

Kardashian have been called out before for promoting unhealthy habits on their social media.

Kim has been seen supporting this behavior when she partnered with a company that sells

appetite replacement lollipops to help with weight loss. A lot of fans were angry because they

saw the damaging effect that it could potentially do to her fans. Jenae Sitzes an editorial assistant

that regularly covers topics on nutrition and health trends wrote a webpage on the ad that Kim

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posted for the lollipops. In the webpage Sitzes inserted a Tweet that Jameela Jamil, a British

actress, tweeted at Kim showing her rage with the ad. “No. Fuck off. No. You terrible and toxic

influence on young girls. I admire their mother’s branding capabilities, she is an exploitative but

innovative genius, however this family makes me feel actual despair over what women are

reduced to.” (Sitzes, 2018) Khloe also received backlash when she posted on her Facebook an ad

for meal replacement shakes; her fans exclaiming that the body she has is from plastic surgery

and not from drinking those shakes. It is understandable why the opposition believes that the

Kardashians can be damaging to a young women's physical health. However it comes down to

the consumers choice if they decided to buy into what the Kardashians promote. The Kardashians

promote things like supplements for the money; but it is up to the viewers to understand that the

choices they are making could be a health risk.

Now let’s start from the beginning with Kris Jenner the mother and the head behind the

Kardashian brand. The self-named ‘Momager’ of the Kardashian clan has built an impressive

empire in the past decade with the net worth well over billions. The Kardashian-Jenner sisters are

the face of the Kardashian brand but Kris Jenner is the women behind the successes that has

casted all five daughters in the spotlight. All the sisters owning their own business in makeup,

clothing, modeling and cellphone apps that have gained millions of dollars in revenue. Business

women are typically given a bad rep in the media as always being malicious or bitter. Meredith

Jones, a sociologist and a reader in Gender and Media studies, agreed with the comparison that

McClain made between Kris Jenner and Donald Trump during the 2016 elections. That both

Jenner and Trump gained success in the same way by connecting with their fans through

supposed genuineness. But because Kris Jenner is a women she is not giving as much recognition

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for her work. While Jenner is also considered a bad mother because of the way that she has made

money and gained success through her daughters.

Rumors say that Jenner arranged to have her daughter’s, Kim, sex tape released to the

public just months before their show aired “Keeping up with the Kardashians” for the ratings.

Kris Jenner has been accused in the past of being an opportunist by a former lover, Todd

Waterman. Waterman stated, “You want to see how they became famous, it was at the death of a

friend and a scandal with her daughter and her daughter's relations,” (Making of a Mumager,

2017) Kris Jenner has insisted that she has never had any regrets following their descent to fame.

Jenner has said herself that she is a person that knows how to make a bad situation into a

profitable one. There are people who are quick to judge the way Kris has managed her family but

there are those who admire her ambition as well.

Kim Kardashian, the women behind the sex tape scandal back in 2007 and arguably the

most popular Kardashian sister. With over 135 million followers on her Instagram and 60.2

million on Twitter, Kim Kardashian, is one of the sisters that receives the most hate out of all of

them. Not only do people love to look at her but they love to hate her too. Sociologist have found

that we’re fixated on Kim because of all the images she shares with the world. Melanie Kohnen,

a professor of media at New York University, states that the photos that Kim posts come from

Kim herself so that makes a big difference. Kim creates a human connection between her and her

viewers making her fans feel like they are a part of her life. Kim has lived her whole life in front

of the cameras inviting viewers into her personal life. Rebecca Plante, a sociology professor, said

“She came out with nothing to hide, so she seems real and approachable.” (Avila, 2015) We also

always know what we will get when we click her profile; Kim’s look makes her as familiar as

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one of our own family members or a friend. Kim, along with her sisters, are quickly becoming

icons that we can’t seem to get enough of.

The Kardashians are seen as filthy rich celebrities that have no talent. But there has been

recent studies done on the Kardashians to prove that they have impacted popular culture in the

past decade. Meredith Jones, a sociologist and a reader in Gender and Media studies, held a

symposium dedicated entirely to the Kardashians. Jones has argued that the Kardashians should

be taken more seriously as an area of study for our society to see how we reflect what we see in

the Kardashians. “I don’t want to disparage them because I think that they do just express the

values that our cultures tend to have,” (Lopatko, 2018) Jones claims. Jones says that it is

hypocritical to hate the Kardashians for their emphasis on ‘consumption and consumerism’ when

it reflects our everyday culture. We as a culture feed into the Kardashian brand every day, even if

it is just to click on a picture that they have posted. As viewers that is us falling into the

Kardashians even if we don’t buy anything that they are selling. Jones states that it is hard to tell

how much of the hate directed at the Kardashians has to do with the discomfort about our

cultures deterioration.

Jones has also said that before her conference she was asked multiple times to justify the

study behind the Kardashians. Jones argues that the Kardashians aren’t taken seriously because

they are women and their show revolves around ‘feminine concerns’. Jones says that if she would

have held a conference about Bear Grylls, a wilderness and survival expert, there wouldn't have

been so much criticism from the audience. Even though what Bear Grylls does doesn’t apply to

the daily lives of a lot of viewers who follow him. Jones thinks that the Kardashians are

important because she believes that they are a symbol of women supporting each other. Jones

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gives examples from episodes of the show ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ mentioning how

the Kardashian have always talked about supporting their mother or their sisters, even their

transgender father Caitlyn Jenner. Another scholar Dr. Giuliana Monteverde, with a PhD in

Media Studies stated that the Kardashians “should be both defended and critiqued.”(Lopatko,

2018) Monteverdes opinion is that the Kardashian should be held accountable for their brand that

sells old-fashioned version of gender roles but should be defended against the misogyny of their

critics.

A student by the name of Selena Pruitt did research for her American studies about how

the Kardashians have influenced American culture. “There’s more to them than just money,

fame, selfies, and beauty,” (McLaughlin, 2016) Pruitt said. In her research Pruitt argues that the

Kardashian represent the worst and best in our culture. Pruitt says that the Kardashians brand

revolves around them being a family and that the women put all together are unstoppable. One of

the American values that are at the top is having a strong relationship with your family. Pruitt

also claims that the Kardashians are a representation of the American dream. Pruitt says, “I don’t

think people want to admit it, but money is seen as the ultimate form of success.”(McLaughlin,

2016) Weather it is getting that dream home or putting your children through a good school.

Pruitt said that she found it strange the lack of research on the Kardashians because they have

influenced pop culture so much for more than ten years. Pruitt believes that they aren’t taken

seriously because they are seen as shallow and worthless. While Pruitt believes that a lot of what

the Kardashian do can be problematic she also believes that they have a lot to offer us. Since

views believe that the Kardashians shouldn't have lasted so long Pruitt thinks that it is good to be

able to study why they have lasted as long as they have.

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The Kardashians are more than just entertainment in our daily lives; they have had a big

influence in fashion, politics and racism. Meredith Jones argued at her symposium that the

Kardashians can teach us about racism. Jones states that the Kardashians are always heavily

involved with black men. Kim Kardashian is married to Kanye West a very famous black rap

artist. Khloe Kardashian has never dated a white man and their mother Kris Jenner is currently

dating a black man, Corey Gamble. Jones says that “racial boundaries are being blurred” and that

white America still has a problem with the merging of two cultures. Not only are the Kardashians

busy making mixed children but they have had a hand in politics. Jones takes for example in the

2016 elections the selfie Kim with Hillary Clinton. Hillary knew that the one benefiting from the

picture was going to be herself. By posing with Kim, Clinton would reach another audience that

she wouldn’t have before.

Now in the end what did we learn about the Kardashians? That underneath all the glamor

and all the media drama the Kardashians are business women that have taken advantage of their

platform. But because they are women people tend to shame them more and criticize them for

what they do. As consumers we need to take responsibility for what we consume and what we

give our attention too. A lot of viewers believe that the Kardashians shouldn't be famous because

they have nothing to offer to the world. Except that the same viewers that click the Kardashians

pictures to comment on them negatively are the same ones giving the Kardashians the platforms

that they claim not to deserve. Any publicity even bad publicity is good for celebrities that want

to be talked about. The Kardashians are literally making money off of the negativity that they

receive from the viewers that claim to hate them. Whether viewers like them or not the

Kardashians have had and will continue to have a big impact on popular culture.

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Works Cited

Avila, Theresa. “Science Shows Why We Can't Stop Looking at Kim Kardashian.” Mic, Mic

Network Inc., 23 Oct. 2015,

mic.com/articles/120431/the-science-of-why-we-can-t-stop-looking-at-kim-kardashian#.f

HcwZB9XA.

Jones, Meredith. “Why a Professor Says We Should All Keep up with the Kardashians.” The

Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 27 Nov. 2015,

www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-a-professor-says-we-should-all-keep-up-with-

the-kardashians-a6751856.html.

Jones, Meredith. “What's Wrong with Studying the Kardashians?” The Guardian, Guardian News

and Media, 14 Jan. 2016,

www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/jan/14/whats-wrong-with-studyin

g-the-kardashians.

Lopatko, Katya. “Scholars Say If You Hate the Kardashians, You Probably Hate Yourself.” Vice,

Vice, 7 May 2018,

www.vice.com/en_us/article/d35a9x/scholars-say-if-you-hate-the-kardashians-you-proba

bly-hate-yourself.

“Making of a Mumager.” NW, vol. 25, no. 36, Sept. 2017, p. 34. EBSCOhost,

libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb

&AN=124853319&site=eds-live.

McLaughlin, Alexandra. “Why Keeping Up Matters: The Kardashians as a Reflection of

Society.” Technology of Gene Therapy:Macalester, 13 June 2016,

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www.macalester.edu/news/2016/06/why-keeping-up-matters-the-kardashians-as-a-reflect

ion-of-society/.

Sitzes, Jenae. “PSA: Kim Kardashian's 'Appetite Suppressant' Lollipops Are Not a Smart Weight

Loss Tool.” Prevention, Prevention, 16 May 2018,

www.prevention.com/weight-loss/a20717523/kim-kardashian-flat-tummy-lollipops/.

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