Women Sabotaging Women: The Kardashianization of the American Woman

     So, this week, I am going a bit rogue. We still have plenty of time to talk about elections, and Joe Biden, Democrats, Ukraine, and all the other things that make life in America nervous and scary. I wanted to do something different, and Megyn Kelly helped me do that. A recent podcast of hers, made me think about something that has seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle, the state of American women. Since women got the right to vote, we have been fighting for tangible things like equal pay, but we have also been fighting for credibility, and to be taken seriously in our endeavors. In some cases, we could argue that, yes, maybe we are finally there. But there are also members of our own team who seem to be spoiling things for the rest of us.

     But I am going to start off with the positive. We all like positive. Megyn Kelly mentioned on her podcast as she spoke with her guest, comedian Bridget Phetasy, the issue of women embracing their bodies. Kelly mentioned the Twitter page of Paulina Porizkova. Back in the 80’s, she was considered a “super model,” but she may be more familiar as the widow of former lead singer for the popular 80’s band The Cars, Rick Ocasek. One of the things Porizkova wants to promote, is that older women are beautiful. One look at her Twitter page, and it is easy to see that she is doing just that. I am not sure just how old she is, but she looks amazing, and not just because she was a “super model.” She wants other women, no matter what age they are to feel beautiful as well. It is a very affirming message, and apparently one that she is passionate about. The entertainment industry has no shortage of women who will tell you that once they hit 40, there is not much out there for them to do. Paulina Porizkova is doing something all women should do, embrace your age, and the wisdom and beauty that comes along with it.

     But then Megyn got into the not-so-positive. She went back a few years to the 2020 Superbowl half-time show that featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Kelly thought that the outfits each wore were way too revealing. Kelly took advantage of the looser rules of the podcast medium and stated, “I object to, like J. Lo and Shakira showing their vag at the Superbowl, like, I don’t want that.” She added that, “it’s gotta be situation appropriate.” Both performers received a lot of criticism after the performance saying that it was way too risqué for family viewing. But maybe what else was not ok, was the fact that those families consist of impressionable girls. I can only imagine that Megyn Kelly was speaking as the mother of one of those girls. As women, we strive to instill in girls just how vitally important education is, that it will take them wherever they want to go. Wearing what amounts to a sequined G-string and pole dancing will take them somewhere, but that somewhere might not be a desired place.

     Megyn Kelly then touched on what could be considered other kinds of showmanship. The self-made absorption industries that are the Kardashians, and Meghan Markle. If there was no reality TV industry, would there be a Kardashian industry? I am going to guess no. There is absolutely nothing wrong with strong businesswomen, and on one level, you have to give it to the Kardashian women, that is what they are. Their business is themselves. But exactly what is the product they are selling? Megyn Kelly had some good points to bring up about that. Kelly stated what no doubt millions of other Americans think as well, “I never want to see another picture of Kim Kardashian again. I am so sick of seeing her boobs and her ass every time I open the New York Post, The Daily Mail, whatever – I’m sick of it. And not just her, but all the sisters too, sick of it.” Kelly also threw in female celebrities who wear way too revealing outfits to awards shows. “It goes to the place where it just becomes so in-your-face that it bothers me.”

     While it might be hard to blame any one person or thing for the self-absorbed, self-promoting society we have become, Megyn Kelly came pretty close to laying at least some of the blame where it probably belongs. She said of the Kardashian clan, “What I object to – back on the Kardashians, is the unrivaled vanity. Like the self-promotional, out-of-control focus on oneself – ego, clicks, likes. They’re hugely responsible for that in our society.” Kelly conceded that they didn’t do it by themselves but believes they more than anyone else has had the effect on society. She said that she actually asked them if they were a force for good or evil but did not disclose their answer. She added that, “the selfie culture is abhorrent to me.”

     Megyn Kelly wasn’t done yet with the women who sabotage other women with their antics. Meghan Markle was next. Again, Megyn Kelly merely said out loud what millions of others think. “Everything is either racist, sexist, or wrong when it comes to Meghan Markle, despite all of the enormous gifts that have been given to her, and the adulation that’s been given to her. I am cheering the downfall of this woman’s approval rating and cheering the authors who are bringing these stories out so that people can see how petty, and shallow and small these people are.” I have to say, I didn’t know who Meghan Markle was until she started dating Prince Harry. I was not a regular viewer of “Suits.” But I thought, wow, what an amazing story. Yes, she was marginally famous for being on a television show, but she met and married a Prince and look how her life changed. It really was the stuff of fairy tales. But then, like Kelly said, she kind of mucked it up. And now, for someone who claims to want “privacy,” we sure do see an awful lot of her.

     The Kardashians would be a force for good for women, if all they did was manage their businesses. But their business has become the exploitation of themselves. Meghan Markle, now that she is no longer a working member of the Royal Family, also has projects she is working on. But the one common denominator with Kardashians and Markle? It is all about them. What lessons are they imparting to younger generations of women? That self-exploitation will bring success? What if it doesn’t? What then? If we could only make them just go away until they could demonstrate that they could be better examples for young women. But I guess it is just not sexy and selfie-worthy enough.