Kylie Jenner, what a brand. At just 19 (I know) she is possibly one of the most influential celebs in the world. She has around 102.1 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. That’s a lot of people to influence. According to a recent post, she received 1,464,381,508 likes on her Instagram posts alone in 2016. This comes as news this week reported the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan has become the second highest annual earner, just behind Kim. She has also been named as one Forbes 30 Under 30 Celebrities Using their fame to make a difference — and a fortune. It seems she is unstoppable.
A recent study found that 12-15 year olds spend around 20 hours a week online, while children as young as 3 or 4 spend 8 hours online a week. This is in a world where girls are now experiencing body shame as young as 9 or 10 years old. Media images have long been noted for their effect on young peoples’ self-esteem, but exposure to these images is only increasing thanks to the Internet.
Kylie Jenner, as a celebrity, influencer and social media Queen, is just one person contributing to these images that young people see. And there are some very worrying messages being promoted through her Instagram…
Beauty=Value
Kylie Cosmetics – you’ve seen the products: lip kits that sell out in minutes; eyeshadows that are applied in swatches all the way up her arm. Hats, phone cases, thongs, a calendar, and finally, the pop-up shop that opened conveniently close to Christmas. She really is maximising every aspect of sales. And it’s all working on one simple idea: your beauty is your worth. If your make-up looks good, you can be successful. She is earning these millions because she knows how to apply make-up and guess what? You can buy her products now too! Yay!
Kylie’s vanity is no secret. She posts selfies almost daily and takes every opportunity to capture herself. I mean, who can forget Rob’s snapchat showing her sheer focus on getting a perfect selfie..
This girl has almost entirely built her business on her looks, starting with her selfies and progressing to lip kits and fillers. Kylie began on Keeping Up With the Kardashians and has managed to continue her fame through her looks. Her selfies, clothes and make-up. And this is all sending out an incredibly shallow message to people that your looks are your way to money and success.
Insecure? Turn to the knife…or needle.
If you buy one of her lipkits (consisting of a liquid lipstick and liner) then magic will happen. You will suddenly have beautifully plump lips just like Kylie Jenner herself. But there’s one problem: although her entire cosmetic empire began with these lipkits, she only achieves that perfect pout thanks to lip fillers. Ironic. She is actually making money from her fillers. Now they’ve definitely paid for themselves, probably multiple times over.
Kylie’s lips were a major talking point a couple of years ago, with the teen denying rumours she’d had fillers and saying she just “wasn’t ready” to discuss it. But then came her confession on KUWTK.
Following this there were obviously those against it saying she was far too young to have this kind of procedure- she was only 17 at the time the show aired after all. But there were also a worrying amount of people supporting her and saying that she was just “fixing” an insecurity. What kind of attitude is that? Thinking that if you’re not happy with something the answer is to have fillers, or some other cosmetic procedure.
Social media is normalising cosmetic surgery to the point that the “perfect” body can only be achieved through these procedures. A Channel 5 documentary recently reported that around 9500 British women have a boob job each year to live up to the Instagram expectation! Now Kylie Jenner’s millions of followers are seeing that lip fillers are okay if you’re insecure about your lips. And this is opening up the floodgates so pretty soon everyone will be reaching for the knife saying “oh I’m just insecure.”
Lying is okay
Obviously there’s the whole “how dare you say I’ve had lip fillers, that’s so insulting, but wait yeah I did get them” scenario. But people think Kylie Jenner is lying about a few other things. Mainly her boobs and her bum.
Back in September 2015 Kylie addressed rumours that she’d had a boob job saying it was all thanks to “the Bombshell by Victoria’s Secret [bra]. It’s life-changing.” But that was 2015. Last month she was hit with more speculation of a boob job after she posted a few pictures to Instagram showing a visibly fuller chest.
No doubt it’s all thanks to the angle, lighting, and the miracle bra. But just a few days later, another part of her anatomy came under fire.
Honestly, I laughed when I first saw this. Really? How stupid does she think we are? Her bum has very clearly been edited in some way. That middle belt loop just looks way too long. And those pockets, they could hold an iPad. For once there are comments saying “photoshopped” and one user even commented “I wana cry bcuz you rly dont look like this behind all the operations.” But as well as those pointing out the fakeness, there are over 2.6 million likes and people commenting things like “I wish I had money :(”
This isn’t okay. People are still aspiring to look like her even though they know it’s fake. The bum has been photoshopped, the boobs enlarged and the lips plumped. And people are also accepting the fact she’s not being honest about it either. She hasn’t come out and said “sure, I’ve had bum implants” or “yeah I photoshopped that photo.” Instead she’s continued silently posting these images and allowing millions of people to think that this is the way they need to look. And she’s making money from it. She is also sending out a message to millions that it’s okay to hide the truth, or avoid questions and not own up to what you’ve down. All very dangerous stuff.
Sex Sells
Kylie isn’t alone in this. It all started with Kim and that video which shot the Kardashians into the limelight. Before, she was just Paris Hilton’s friend and stylist, but now she was famous in her own (undignified) right.
As the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenners, Kylie is very clearly following in Kim’s footsteps. Her selfies are becoming more and more revealing and it’s only a matter of time before she goes full-Kim and posts a naked selfie when she has “nothing to wear LOL.”
It is incredibly scary that this girl is only 19. She can’t even legally drink in America yet. If it were any other girl posing this provocatively in minimal underwear and making money from it, she wouldn’t just be called a celebrity. Or an inspiration. Or #goals or #wcw for that matter either. But thanks to her famous family she somehow manages to get away with this.
Kylie Jenner is not promoting anything but sex and I find that so sad. She is a teenager acting way beyond her years. Yes, she is incredibly mature for her age, I mean she’s the owner of a hugely successful business. But when it changes from mature business intelligence to provocative sexuality, that’s when it becomes a problem.
Young girls are maturing earlier than ever, with contouring and eyeliner becoming perfected by the time they’re 13. I didn’t even start wearing make-up until I was at least 15. I didn’t know how important eyebrows were either. That’s all changing though. Girls look about 10 years older than they actually are. And with role models like Kylie Jenner, it’s no surprise.
A Continuing Trend
While Instagram remains a dangerous place for young people, the people they follow play a vital role in how the app affects them. Following Kylie Jenner and people like her is only asking for lower self-esteem. I’m sure we’ll continue to see a rising number of people asking surgeons for the Kylie lips or the Kardashian bum. After all, who wouldn’t want to look like her?
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