#and the way weight loss is such a pushed topic in society is so fucked up

[navvigating]

okay tw im gonna talk about weight and stuff bc my friend made me a tiny bit upset earlier but i know its a very touchy topic

[archinamorata-blog]

Skinny Privilege and Intersectionality

TW: Dysphoria, Eating Disorders

Scale of Impact To the phrase, “skinny-shaming is exactly the same as fat-shaming”, I say, “not quite”. To be frank, I’m not going to tell people how to feel. Certainly, on an individual basis, skinny-shaming can be incredibly damaging and lead to dysphoria. However, the difference between the two prejudices is found in scale and systematic reinforcement. Fat-shaming has it, skinny-shaming doesn’t. Society at large still says that thinner is better and thinner is happier. It can trap the “haves” into feeling underwhelmed and the “have-nots” into an inferiority complex (not always -it can be rejected -but frequently enough). The prevalence of size-related eating disorders says enough, all whilst pro-anamia blogs remain rife.

“But curves are in!”

In this time of influencer culture, the women on social media who seem to profit the most from having curves are still quite slim. No, it’s no longer the mainstream cool to be completely flat and “nineties skinny”, but that older beauty standard has not gone, it has been moulded. Science must be passed down by those with power and so the definition of “health” is controllable. This new healthy image is now exclusive to being smaller as well as with curves. It mixes the familiar with the new and so this change has been easier for people to adjust to and aspire towards. I can’t help but observe that the dawn of this new standard occurred at the same time the authenticity of black culture (that has always celebrated larger, curved bodies) became more aggressively appropriated - but more on that later. The easiest way to spot skinny privilege is to look at where the money is. Haute couture models: all still one body type. The Plus Size movement: doing wonders socially (the impact of role models like Ashley Graham, Lizzo, Oyama Botha etc.), but still far less lucrative. I find that their runway shows are still seen as “for the greater good” politics and this undermines the fact that they are naturally very beautiful. Upon sight, the stage design is generally *snob voice* not as extremely elegant because of the smaller budget. If elite models were to personally, outwardly, and more widely support plus size campaigns and individuals, it’s capital would spike, its image would improve, plus size desirability would become more mainstream and less fetishised, elite runways may eventually become more mixed, and skinny rule would dwindle. As thin women, that is their power and that is their privilege.

Chat Shit, Get Surgery

Skinniness is a widespread mentality that, without self-education, we are all complicit in. Its main driving force is its profitability for those already possessing power. Being a healthy-minded skinny woman protects a person from feeling personally targeted by falsely marketed health teas, diets that promise the ‘beach body’ result (I think you can guess what I think about the term). These products are a hint towards the falsehood of neoliberal happiness and corporations benefit from this standard having been so deeply entrenched in people’s minds.

A key example of this involves the recent LulaRoe pyramid scheme lawsuits. LulaRoe is a business model that allows American suburban women to provide their own income by selling clothes online as ‘consultants’. Consultants at the top of the scheme (called ‘Mentors’) are earning up to $30,000 per month. The company primarily earns money, not by customer sales, but by hiring more and more recruits who need to buy $5000-$9000 clothes packages just to start selling. To be honest, the clothes are average at best. So what entices these new recruits? Image. The high earners use their salary to live a lavish lifestyle and post on social media. One of the biggest attractions comes from a group chat called the Tijuana Skinnies. Members are flown out to Mexico to undergo gastric band surgery and come back looking ‘slim and beautiful’. One Mentor tried out a temporary gastric band in America, almost died, and was still encouraged to go through with the real thing in Tijuana. It’s believed that the company directors push this because the surgery they fly the women to gives them commissions for referrals. This is a multi-billion dollar company that profits most from its image. And it’s a skinny one. Obviously, on the flip side a person can just reject fat-shaming and not pay any mind to it. But with messages everywhere that tell you not to, it is not as easy.

“The obesity epidemic shouldn’t be supported and you’re just letting people give themselves excuses.”

I find it quite funny, Susan, how the health and welfare of larger people seems to only be cared about when arguing against the idea that they should even have body confidence in the first place. Comme, do you empathise or not? Body health can’t exist without mental health. To say otherwise is to advocate for dissociation and correct me if otherwise, but that doesn’t sound very caring. The above argument works on the assumption that all those who could possibly be targets of subjective fat-shaming (i.e. everyone who is not obviously skinny)  are obese. This is false equivalence as the number of people in each group is vastly different. It reinforces the idea that slim is the only moral way to exist and that all weight gain is unhealthy. This mentality is what stops people from appreciating themselves and intensifies self-rejection. As a result, a person is less likely to take responsibility and act towards improving their health if they don’t know or even want what’s best for their body in the first place. Working hard and not allowing any feelings of self-worth in the process just sounds like burnout to me - but I’m no expert on this type of experience so any and all opinions are welcome.

Intersectionality

The intersectional aspect of skinny privilege is clearer when you consider how particular groups are viewed, including plus size men, women of colour, disabled people and so forth. The topic I’m most qualified to speak on concerns women of colour.

The ‘angry black girl’ narrative falls more heavily on darker-skinned (the treatment of Michelle Obama, Joanna from The Apprentice, Alexandra Burke, Leslie Simpson, it goes on) and plus size women. Within colourism, privilege exists because Eurocentrism is idealised. White femininity is the set of traditional standards set within that demographic and being skinny is one of them. So, indirectly (heavy emphasis on that one), being skinny may help a person be subconsciously seen as more ‘Eurocentric’ and have an increased likelihood of being heard.

“Privilege is an absence.” - Reni Eddo-Lodge, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

One of the most lucrative exports of the black community is its music. Here, female skinny privilege is harder to spot. If we’re talking uber-popular music, I would say the most successful women in the game are currently Beyoncé, Rihanna, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj.* Indeed, none are that skinny. However, when women are larger, they are made to reach higher standards in order to get the same level of respect as skinny women. I’ve observed that only hourglass/pear plus size figures are universally accepted. You must have a conventionally pretty face. Don’t be loud if you’re not light-skinned, a trait all four of these artists have. As mentioned, this absence of dark skin (and often coupled with straighter hair/wigs) puts them closer to oh so pleasant, placid, harmless Eurocentricity. They can be firm, self-assured, loud and carelessly sensual whilst getting less criticism than dark-skinned women. They have bodies that conform to the standards of both colourism within the black community and Reni Eddo-Lodge’s definition of Whiteness. They are an intersection of preferences within the two mentalities and profit from it. This privilege allows their black identity to remain authentic and something different that non-black people will speculate on, listen to, and enjoy. $$$. Even so, when Nicki Minaj and Cardi B praise fuller figures, it’s often in comparison to skinny women (I remember the amusingly whiny uproar after Nicki’s “Fuck the skinny bitches” line in Anaconda). Even in this community, it’s as if plus size beauty cannot exist alone. It’s often within the context of skinniness and rarely receives full attention outside of being fetishised. Skinny is seen as the obviously beautiful standard that everything else revolves around.

“What can be done?”

I’ll keep it short:

Continue to increase representation in advertisements, television and especially runways.

Reduce demand for unhealthy weight loss products through educating yourself and others and not buying them.

Vocally support plus size movement individuals and encourage equally paid photo shoot and runway contracts. This includes everyone, but especially celebrities with large platforms.

Charity starts at home, so analyse your own body artistically. Temporarily ignore beauty standards whilst doing this and make your own judgements on its different organic shapes. If you can like unconventional shapes in art, why not something as complex as yourself?

[knb-imagines-blog]

GOM + Kagami being there for You

This is something I really need and I hope you will like it.

Kuroko Tetsuya

‘‘I’m sure she didn’t mean it.’’ He stated in a serious voice, gently massaging your back with his left hand.

‘‘Oh she did, she meant it. She had spat these words with such venom that I almost died there.’’ You sobbed into his arm, getting more hysterical as the seconds passed by. ‘‘We don’t even see each other that much. What can’t she be a little nicer?’‘

‘‘S/o-’‘ Kuroko called your name and your head immediately perked to look at him in the eyes.’‘-your mother has been alone for a very long time, she doesn’t know how to deal with her almost adult daughter. I’m not trying to excuse her behaviour, because what she did was plainly wrong, I’m just trying to show you that her words don’t describe who you are at all. It’s just some nonsense she says to make herself feel better.’‘ He stroked your head affectionately at which your heart melted, leaving behind the heaviness you carried after meeting your mum earlier that day. ‘‘It’s not good, but you can’t change it. There’s no need to cry over it, when you have so many people thinking you are amazing. Including me, of course.’’ Your boyfriend pecked your lips and your foreheads touched, staying still.

‘‘Wow Tetsu, I wasn’t aware you could talk so much.’‘ You laughed, earning unamused glare from him and a light punch in the gut.

‘‘You are an ungrateful brat sometimes, I swear.’‘

Kagami Taiga

‘‘Taiga, the light of my life, you don’t have to stay here with me and rot, you know?’‘

‘‘Please, you would die without me here.’‘ And with that he put the thermometer in your mouth, making you unable to speak, however, when he finally took it out, you started arguing once again.

‘’I’m really okay, you didn’t have to leave practice for me. It’s very unprofessional.’’ He raised an eyebrow at you, not taking your stupid excuses for a reason to just get up and go home. You both stared at each other for what felt like a minute, before you eventually gave up. ‘’And I feel like I’m using you, okay - you got me.’’ You rolled your eyes and rolled onto your other side to avoid his shocked expression. It’s not like you didn’t want him to be here, it’s just that he could do so many funnier things right now, which didn’t contain cleaning someone’s house and jumping around a person who can barely lift a finger.

‘’You are sick - me taking care of you has nothing to do with using anybody. I’m doing what I want and this is what I want. Now face me, because it’s time for your pills.’’ You groaned loudly at his statement and he laughed upon seeing your pouting face. ‘’See? It wasn’t so hard.’’ He praised after you swallowed the medicine and chuckled once again when you shot him a very nasty glare. ‘’Now I’m going to make some dinner and we can watch a movie or something.’’

Your redhead boyfriend got up and started walking towards the kitchen, when you tiredly moved to catch his sleeve in your fingers. He turned to you quickly, asking if something was wrong and you just shook your head.

‘‘Everything is fine, it’s just --- thank you Taiga, seriously.’‘ You didn’t dare to watch his reaction, but somewhere deep inside you knew, he was very happy right then.

‘‘You are welcome, s/o.’‘

Aomine Daiki

‘‘Okay, what the fuck did he do again?’‘ 

‘‘Nothing really.’’ You replied, wiping already cold tears with the sleeve of your blouse from your cheeks. ‘‘It was my fault, anyway.’‘

‘‘Your fault?’‘ He questioned angrily, swallowing all the frustration he had in him. He didn’t want you to experience someone’s anger once again. ‘‘Him being a jealous prick for no reason is your fault? Don’t make me laugh.’‘ You flinched at his harsh words, and he immediately regretted uttering them. So much for making you feel better.

‘‘I shouldn’t have met up with your team behind his back - I just really wanted to see you! But you know how he is.’‘ You cried once more, cringing at how pathetic you must have looked right now. 

‘‘Yeah, I know that he goes around flirting with everything that moves and you can’t even hang out with your friends. That’s ridiculous.’‘ His brain started creating very vivid images of him killing your boyfriend in many interesting ways, but then the realisation of the meaning of his words hit him. You weren’t aware of his disloyalty towards you and he didn’t mean to just scream this information at you. His eyes went back to yours and he noticed how they shined with fresh tears in them. He wanted to call it a very beautiful sight, but it wasn’t the time nor the place for it. ‘‘Shit, I’m sorry - I didn’t mea--’’

‘‘It’s okay Daiki, I suspected something, I just needed a valid proof. Although, I have been thinking about breaking up with him anyway, he was slowly getting violent and it’s not something I want to be around any longer.’‘ Your body was trembling a little, but the real war was happening inside Aomine’s mind, who, upon hearing that some low life wanted to harm you, was ready to slaughter the guy’s entire family just to make you safe. ‘‘Thank you, I realyy appreciate your support.’‘

‘‘Everything for you, s/o.’‘ It really wasn’t a good time for his confession, but once you healed, he would make you the happiest person in the world.

Kise Ryouta

‘‘S/o-chi, you look very out of character, did something happen?’‘ His question didn’t particularly surprised you, because you seriously looked different than usual. That day was relatively hot, enough to wear some shorts along with a short-sleeved shirt, but you against your normal outfit decided to wear a hoodie with trousers. Even your mood was worse than ever, your grumpy face only confirmed it.

Kise was extremely worried about you and was scared that someone may have done bad things to you. He was intensively staring at your blank face, awaiting an answer that took too long to form in your mind and you were just observing him with saddened eyes. ‘’Will you tell me s/o-cchi?’’

You sighed, suddenly wearing an expression of discomfort, which twisted into embarrassement very quickly. ‘’Ryouta, do I look fat to you?’’ This question came out as a whisper, but he heard it almost too correctly. Millions of imagines started haunting his memory, especially the ones with him constantly worrying about his weight as a model and an athlete.

‘‘No, s/o-cchi. Did someone tell you that?’‘ He asked, concerned and ready to fight.

‘‘Not exactly.’’ You stopped your words from flowing out of your mouth to take a deep, relaxing breath. ‘‘I just overheard some of my classmates conversation and, you know, they weren’t saying nice things about me. That’s it. Not a big deal.’‘ You dismissed your problem, obviously trying to drop the topic, but Kise was having none of it.

‘‘It is a big deal, because their words affect you and they shouldn’t. Look at me, I’m a model and people still mock me behind my back and say really disgusting things. The society will never be happy and it’s their loss. You don’t need to live like them and waste your life on hatred. Be happy, show  them who is the boss.’‘ Both of his hands were on your shoulders as you looked at yourselves. He was clearly determined and you just speechless. And then in the simple blink of the eye you burst into tears, asking him to go home with you so you could change into something more comfortable.

‘‘Sure, lovely. Maybe we could hit a beach on the weekend, what do you think?’‘

‘‘Gladly.’‘ You aswered with no hint of saddnes on your flushed face.

Midorima Shintarou

Midorima wasn’t subtle, but easy-going. If he didn’t think his head would explode, he would ask you what’s wrong a long time ago. However, your moping was getting slightly worse with each day and it made him think that the situation was more serious than he previously predicted. He tried to talk to you about it for hours, but once he bit his tongue, the second time he almost walked into the wall and basically - he was scared for his life. But he also loved you dearly, so there was no going back this time. He would do it, he really would.

‘‘What’s wrong with you? You looked like somebody had died, nanodayo.’‘ At least he asked, okay? No one was talking about being nice and shit.

‘‘Nice as always Shin.’‘ You laughed, without a humour and came back to doing your math homework.

‘‘I didn’t mean it like that. I just---worry.’‘ The last part was uttered so quickly and quietly as if he didn’t want you to hear it at all, but you did and it shocked you.

‘’Mn --- it’s nothing, really. I think I’m just being paranoid and all.’’ You smiled tiredly, putting your pen down and he turned his face to you, to listen to your confession even better. ‘‘My parents are behaving kinda weird, something’s going on and all I’ve been thinking about it is them getting divorced. I know it’s not my choice, but theirs, however, it makes me anxious. Sorry, if it’s annoying.’‘ He focused on your words, processing them and trying to create a perfect response, which would be honest, but also helpful.

‘‘I know it may be scary now, but I swear that even it they separate their ways, they would still love you the same.’‘ He grasped your fingers lightly in his, face going red. ‘‘As I do, nanodayo.’‘

You looked up at his words, blushing almost as much as him. ‘’I love you, too Shin. Thank you.’’

‘‘It’s nothing, nanodayo.’‘ He replied and pushed his glasses a liittle higher on his nose. His hand never leaving yours.

Akashi Seijurou

‘‘Ugh, I’m so frustrated Seijurou, I don’t think I can keep this up.’‘ You said at the verge of the tears, pushing math book away from your body. Akashi looked blankly at you, not knowinng how to motivate you to stay focused for a little more time.

‘‘Let’s try again, I will explain better, alright?’‘ He caressed your cheek, desperately trying to stop you from crying. It was the last thing he wanted to see you doing. Even though, he didn’t show it that much he really wanted you to be content. He was clever and on top of the class, but he could admit that math could be really hard. He knew that it was your worst subject and seeing you try so much and then failing was heartbreaking. So he decided to fight with you, teaching you every chance he got. You praised him for it all the time, despite his scary appearance he was really patient with you. You couldn’t help, but love him more for it.

‘‘Okay, okay, but it’s so terrible. I feel like the worst person on the Earth! How did I even get to Rakuzan? I’m the dumbest person I know!’‘ You cried, your words slightly muffled by your palm. Akashi couldn’t see your eyes, but he knew they were probably red with a dark bags under them. You were really hard-working, hee admired it in you.

‘‘You are not dumb, you just need a little practice, love. Nobody was born a genius.’‘ 

‘‘You were.’‘

‘‘I was not, I was just pushed into being the best. I’m glad that you weren’t.’‘ He stated, giving you the most lovestruck look he could pull out, just because you couldn’t see it. It may sound stupid, but he was scared you would find out how important you were to him. How you mattered.

‘‘I’m sorry Sei, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.’‘ You replied guiltily, throwing your arms over his neck in an attempt to hug him. It came out a little messy, but he appreciated it anyway.

‘‘I’m not angry, but you can still repay me by not giving up, okay?’‘ You sniffed, but didn’t dare to protest and opened a book once again. ‘’If you promise me that you will work hard I can give you a very pleasurable reward later, huh?’’ He whispered huskily in your ear, making you red all over your face as you nodded like a crazy.

Maybe he could motivate you.

Murasakibara Atsushi

‘‘Why are you crying, s/o-chin?’‘

‘‘Oh Atsushi, I didn’t hear you coming.’‘ You replied, smilling through your tears. Trying to hide the fact that you were obviously upset.

‘‘Why are you crying?’‘ He asked as if he didn’t hear your previous statement, not liking being ignored.

‘‘No reason, seriously.’‘ You asnwered this time, but it only left his unsatisfied, wanting to know more.

‘‘That’s a lie, s/o-chin. Talk to me.’‘ He whined like a child and sat next to you on the floor, in front of the window, which showed you empty streets and a clear, blue sky, which perfectly imitated how you were feeling. Empty.

‘‘Sometimes people are sad, just like that, there’s no real reason, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not important. I just feel a little down today, you can leave if you want. I don’t want to burden you.’‘ You knew your boyfriend very well. He was bright and could be very clever when he wanted to, but there were things he just wasn’t aware of and simply didn’t care.

‘‘You don’t burden me. I want to stay and make you feel better somehow.’‘ Murasakibara replied, his body a little closer to yours, so you could smell his candy scent, which was more comforting that you could ever imagine.

‘‘It’s not that easy, Atsu.’‘ Your sudden and quiet laugh, sounded more depressing than you wanted it to, but it was just so hard to be happy, when everything just felt so wrong.

‘‘Okay, but let me stay, alright? We can just be here for each other, do nothing and cuddle.’‘ He stated and immediately enveloped you in his long arms after seeing you nod to his proposition. ‘‘I will stay here until you are happy again - and if you never are, I will still be here.’‘ He kissed the skin of your neck, squeezing you tightly in his embrace, shielding you from the world. And in that exact moment you knew that eventually, everything will be just fine.

[theconservativebrief]

To most people, to be anorexic is to have a debilitating disease, an eating disorder. But in the mouths of Kim Kardashian West and her famous sisters, that description seems to have another meaning: to be desirably, delightfully thin.

We learned this tidbit recently when Kim posted videos of herself and her sisters joking about it on her Instagram account. Their jokes gained traction and circulation when they were reposted by others on Twitter.

“Your hair extensions, your ass, your tits, everything, they’re heavy, ’cause she’s fucking voluptuous,” Khloé Kardashian says while ogling her sister Kim in an Instagram story posted to Kim’s account. “But she’s anorexic here,” Khloé continues, pointing at Kim’s waist and noting, “her arms are, like, pin-thin, they’re like my pinky.”

Kim laughs, appearing to take Khloé’s comment as a high compliment. The clip was part of a series of videos posted to Kim’s Instagram story in which Kim asks both Khloé and their half-sister Kendall Jenner how skinny she looked.

In a different clip, Kendall looks at Kim and says, “No, like, I’m really concerned. I don’t think you’re eating.”

“What?!” Kim says, expressing delight wrapped in fake shock. “Oh, my god, thank you.”

In each of the videos, Kim prods and pokes, trying to coerce each sister into flattering words about her weight. Each time they do, she responds with giggles and thank-yous.

The backlash was nearly immediate.

Saw a video where Kendall Jenner tells Kim Kardashian that she looks like she never eats and that she’s concerned about how skinny she is. Kim K says “thank you” in the most delighted voice.

Like, do they ever get tired of being so problematic?

— Wendy R (@WendyRMonkey) July 30, 2018

On one hand, there isn’t anything wrong with sisters complimenting one another’s appearance. But because of the way Kim’s sisters complimented her, and because the conversation played out in front of Kim’s 115 million Instagram followers, many people believed Kim was setting a poor example for anyone who viewed the videos by suggesting that looking like someone with anorexia or starving yourself is something to be commended.

The videos were clearly meant to be funny. The women are laughing, and one can glean that their intent is sarcasm. On some level, it’s not difficult to get into the Kardashians’ mindset and find some dark, sardonic humor in Kim’s obvious weight loss — that women’s bodies are held to impossible standards, especially women who are famous and in the public eye. It’s difficult to think of a woman, and impossible to think of a family of women, whose bodies are scrutinized and judged as much as the Kardashians’ bodies are. Perhaps these jokes were a way to vocalize the pressure they face about their looks.

But as the Kardashians’ critics point out, the glorification of Kim’s skinniness and the joking about anorexia are dangerous viewpoints to share in front of the young people who idolize the sisters.

The Kardashian sisters regularly post benign or inane videos to their Instagram and Snapchat stories. Watch their stories on any given day and you’re likely to find them posing during hair and makeup shoots, giggling over inside jokes, and goofing off with the apps’ various filters. Most of what they post could be reasonably characterized as silly but harmless.

But many people have argued that this particular series of clips was actively harmful, not only because of how Kim and her sisters casually tossed around the term “anorexic,” but because this isn’t the first time Kim has displayed an apparent obliviousness to the message about eating disorders, anorexia, and the value of being thin that she sends.

In January, Kim was criticized for posting an ad promoting a weight loss shake. And in May, she was dragged for posting an advertisement selling appetite-suppressing lollipops to be seen by her millions of Instagram followers:

Whether an adult decides to buy a lollipop that is intended to kill her appetite because Kim Kardashian promoted it is completely up to the adult in question. There’s also nothing wrong with wanting to look like Kim Kardashian, if that is how one’s spirit is moved. But Kim also has legions of young fans, and the message she’s sending with the ad is that these lollipops will help them look and be more like her, including her weight.

One of the most outspoken critics was actress Jameela Jamil, a star of NBC’s The Good Place, who called Kim a toxic influence:

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. pic.twitter.com/zDPN1T8sBM

— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) May 16, 2018

Kim didn’t directly respond to critiques of her ad or her responsibility. She did, however, retweet a fan who photoshopped the ad into a declaration that Kim’s beauty business was thriving, complete with an added LOL. This gave the impression that she didn’t care about the conversation the ad had sparked:

The current backlash to her Instagram stories echoes Jamil’s sentiment that Kim is setting a poor example:

I’m just gonna say this. Using the words “anorexic” and “you look like you don’t eat” as compliments is disgusting. Even if you’re saying them as a joke. An eating disorder should never be used like that. And the fact that Kim Kardashian was squealing with happiness is sick.

— ash (@ashisasag) July 30, 2018

Kim’s critics point out that Kim, whether she realizes it or not, is spreading a dangerous message to her fans and taking her to task for not realizing just how powerful she is or what a bad example she’s setting.

In the sphere of contemporary pop culture, I can’t think of a celebrity whose body is as scrutinized, discussed, and written about in the news as Kim Kardashian’s. Just this week, in the midst of this conversation about anorexia, Kim has also made news for clapping back at Tyson Beckford after he commented that she looks as if her plastic surgeon botched her hip.

Articles exploring which parts of Kim’s body are “real,” or about how to get her butt, are endless. Some media outlets have tried to figure out how much plastic surgery she’s had over the years.

And Kim and her sisters don’t shy away from this coverage. On their show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the sisters talk openly about which looks they love and how they looked in photo shoots. They regularly discuss their diets and binge eating. After her son Saint was born in 2015, Kim set a very public weight loss goal and frequently tweeted updates on her progress. She once Snapchatted getting a tummy tuck, and of course there were articles about that too.

It’s all part of a never-ending cycle of attention and discussion around how Kim looks and how much she weighs. The Huffington Post even has an entire section devoted to the topic and follows every fluctuation (loss, gain, loss, gain):

HuffPost’s KKW weight gain section. HuffPost

It’s no secret that women’s bodies are judged (and expected to change) in ways that men’s aren’t. Famous women’s appearances are scrutinized in an even more intense and pretty gross way. The Kardashians’ appearances are the pinnacle of that scrutiny.

And to be fair, it’s a two-way street. Kim and her sisters have leveraged their looks — from talking about what makeup they’re using to posting the aforementioned tummy tuck on Snapchat to Khloe hosting a show called Revenge Body to Kylie Jenner giving an interview about her lip fillers, and, of course, Kendall Jenner building a successful modeling career — as part of their business.

I don’t have the calculus to quantify whether the media scrutiny over the Kardashians’ appearances is worth the business capital they’ve gained from it. (Kylie Jenner is reportedly on the verge of becoming a billionaire, thanks to her cosmetics line.) I wouldn’t argue with the notion that the constant scrutiny is part of the Faustian deal they’ve signed up for.

But the relationship the Kardashian sisters, including Kim, have to their bodies and to society’s standard of what their bodies should look like is not typical.

Understanding that, it’s easy to see how living up to those pressures manifests itself in equating thinness with beauty and beauty with worth. Kim joking about her weight isn’t especially different from the stomach flu joke in The Devil Wears Prada or Amy Schumer’s cracks about how everyone in Hollywood is starving. It’s also not that far removed from various people on Instagram or other kinds of social media posting about achieving their summer bodies or joking about it, ironically or otherwise.

With Kim and her sisters, though, the missing link is self-awareness. In her Instagram stories, Kim’s glibness about anorexia made a statement — regardless of her intentions or lack thereof — about thinness being more desirable than health, and reinforced the idea that beauty is worth harming yourself over.

What’s frustrating to her critics is that Kim has the power to change that conversation. Celebrities like superstar tennis player Serena Williams, celestial saint Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga have all talked publicly about their insecurities, body shame, and weight. They’ve seemed to understand the power they have to set an example for anyone who views them as a role model, and have made a concerted effort to push the conversation forward in a positive way.

If Kim Kardashian were to talk about how society affects the way she thinks of her body in addition to revealing the work it takes to maintain (she already often posts her workouts to Snapchat), it could be as powerful as the message she’s currently putting out there. It would be an equally newsmaking story as this anorexia mess. She is definitely famous enough to change the tone of the media scrutiny of her looks. But it’s not something she seems particularly concerned about right now — at least not on her Instagram.

Original Source -> Kim Kardashian’s sisters said she looked anorexic. She took it as a compliment.

via The Conservative Brief