It’s no secret the Kardashians receive a lot of hate. By the reactions of some, you’d probably think the Kardashians were murderers or terrorists, but really they’re just a family who happens to be very famous.
Now before you say that they’re “famous for no reason,” I’d like to remind you that they do have a massive empire including multiple reality TV shows, clothing lines, endorsement deals, and books. You can’t get and stay famous for 8+ years without being at least a little intelligent.
Here’s the thing. If you hate the Kardashians, your hate is probably misplaced. And the reasons you probably give for despising them stem from one of four main categories: misogyny, mass media, capitalism, and slut shaming. Let’s break it down:
1. Misogyny
The Kardashians are a family that is filled with women, which in and of itself brings a lot more scrutiny to them than would otherwise be there if their clan were gender-balanced or made up of mostly men.
There’s also a lot of talk about how they “control their men” and are too domineering. Um, ok, first of all, they tend to be with others who seemingly control them. Both Khloe and Kourtney were in long-term relationships with men who misused drugs and alcohol (Lamar Odom and Scott Disick) to unhealthy levels. And Kim’s first husband was allegedly abusive. Let’s not even get into Kylie Jenner’s problematic relationship with Tyga, which started when she was just 16. Plus, most people would hardly call a man too “domineering” in their romantic relationships.
Also, hating them for taking selfies, liking attention, or for being materialistic are also all qualities associated with femininity and things men would never get criticized for. When was the last time you called out a dude for taking too many selfies?
Hating rich, powerful women for being rich, powerful women is nothing new. You’re just repackaging it.
2. Mass Media
Many people will cite their Kardashians hatred as being a byproduct of their discomfort of using the media to get what they want: fame and money. “The Kardashians are everywhere!” they’ll say.
This is not necessarily the fault of the Kardashians. Most of the coverage they get comes from tabloids, news media, and social media, which they don’t control. Also, it’s called being good at public relations (P.R.). When you attract a high level of attention, that means you’re good at self-promotion. If your career is based on being on reality TV that means you’re keeping your career vibrant. If you’re mad at the fact they are on reality TV and not going anywhere anytime soon, then you might want to blame their network or the culture that has created so much hype around the genre. This isn’t the Kardashians' creation and they certainly weren't the first people to have a reality show based on their lives. Hate the game, not the player.
3. Capitalism
Yes, the Kardashians have a massive empire of products, endorsements and sponsorships, which includes everything from video games to self-tanning products. But their takeover of retail is a by-product of capitalism, not Kardashianism. Capitalism allows people to use their connections to create multitudes of product lines that you might not care about, but others are still buying. It’s totally fine to despise everything about it, but the Kardashians didn’t invent endorsement deals.
4. Slut-shaming
If you start to talk about the Kardashians being famous, someone seems to always say, “They’re only famous because Kim has a sex tape!”
Ok, let’s back up. Yes, Kim Kardashian created a sex tape with former boyfriend Ray-J, but she didn’t even want it to be released. In fact, she never authorized it becoming public and actually sued the porn company who released it (Vivid Entertainment), and won. It’s unclear if Ray-J or another source was responsible for its leak, but the fact remains that Kim never wanted it to be public. She’s actually a victim here.
Plus, even if she wanted to sell her sex tape, who cares? There’s nothing wrong with having a sex tape. What’s wrong is slut-shaming.
Do you see now how the Kardashian haterade is actually just a bunch of B.S.? They’re just people who were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and capitalized on their business savvy to create a huge empire.
