Content warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
The beauty industry is constantly evolving with new trends, styles and looks. This industry is key in shaping western standards of beauty, and social media reinforces them.
But the reality is that most of those standards are a lie. Technology makes it easy for people to photoshop their appearance in any way they feel will help them meet these unrealistic beauty standards. The Kardashian family is famously known for their impact on the beauty world and overly photoshopped appearances on social media.
It was no surprise that Khloe Kardashian went to extreme measures to have an untouched photo of herself taken down from the internet. Her legal team took action by forcing websites to take down the photo or risk a lawsuit. The photo was taken at a private family gathering and accidentally uploaded to the web by an assistant. It showed the Kardashian sister in a bikini with no photoshopped or airbrushed features, unlike her usual social media content.
The Kardashians’ team made it clear that the photo was beautiful, but that it is within Khloe’s right to have an “unauthorized” photo of herself taken down.
Khloe spoke out on Instagram about the image and said, “As someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn’t flattering in bad lighting or doesn’t capture your body the way it is after working too hard to get it to this point—and then shares it to the world—you should have every right to ask for it not to be shared, no matter who you are.”
Khloe claims the unflattering picture did not do justice to her body and that it was her right to take the photo down. She had put in a lot of hard work to reach her diet and fitness goals, and the photo was not a representation of that.
Whether people are aware of it or not, the Kardashians have shaped the standard of beauty in American society. They are huge influencers in the beauty world. They are known for setting trends with their makeup and clothing styles. Any products that they promote, from supplementary gummies to makeup, instantly goes viral.
But many of the products they promote are dangerous and not FDA approved. One of the products they promoted is marketed as an appetite-suppressant lollipop, which Kim posted a selfie eating. People on social media were quick to point out the dangerous habits the Kardashian was promoting. She was advertising tips for skipping meals and leading young fans to fall into patterns associated with eating disorders. This promotion of unregulated products is dangerous, as people are likely to copy them. Kim later deleted the post.
The Kardashians have a large fanbase, and with such a huge influence, they need to be more cautious about what messages they are promoting. When Khloe goes to extreme measures to take down a bikini photo of her looking natural, it gives the wrong impression. It comes off as though she is ashamed of who she is. This type of message is then passed on to fans. It will lead to more young fans facing body image-related issues.
Social media stars who promote these beauty standards encourage their audience to mimic their appearance and strive to look like them. Fans may be unaware of the beauty their bodies already hold and go to extreme measures to follow the influencers they admire. Many begin unhealthy eating habits to lose weight or try dangerous supplements to achieve their ideal appearance. Eating disorders have only skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Khloe adds salt to the wound by perpetuating toxic representations of beauty.
Another issue that the Kardashians are contributing to is fatphobia. Fatphobia becomes more prevalent when influencers market products to their audiences that involve weight loss. This promotes the message that the ideal body type has to be skinny. Associating thinness with beauty can lead to mental health issues such as body dysmorphic disorder. People, in particular young women, can become obsessed with their insecurities to the point that they blow perceived bodily flaws out of proportion. Some of the dangerous outcomes of this disorder are depression and/or the overuse of cosmetic surgery.
Khloe’s actions show young girls that photos are not worth posting unless they are photoshopped or touched up to enhance one’s appearance and fit impractical beauty standards. These beauty standards are correlated to historically white features. This means having lighter complexions, skinny waists, light-colored eyes and straight hair. Young girls of color are damaging their natural beauty by using dangerous skin lighteners, diet pills and ruining their curls with constant heat to try to fit in.
This brings up the issue of the Kardashians’ normalization of the infamous “Instagram face” where they fit a white beauty standard but still have ambiguously ethnic features. It is an over-photoshopped face that almost appears like clay, harmfully picking and choosing different ethnic features and deciding what is beautiful or not.
The Kardashians are not transparent about how they achieve their look. Money has a large role in their appearance as they are able to spend large amounts on personal trainers, dietitians, cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery. The Kardashians are able to achieve those looks because they are wealthy, not because they actually use all of the products they promote. These unhelpful products only contribute to their wealth as they mislead fans into purchasing them.
It only hurts our society when more influencers hide their insecurities behind filters and photoshop instead of embracing the natural beauty they have. They create expectations that their fans will never be able to reach because technology is what creates that beauty. It is manufactured.
Instead of going through the trouble of having the photo taken down, Khloe should have let it be. It would have helped her fans realize the truth about the beauty world and that not everything is what it seems. It could have a positive outcome. But instead, the star chose to bring in her legal team and reinforce unattainable white beauty standards that she had a hand in creating.
