The problem with the Kardashian family is… Well, there are so many that we don’t know which one to start with. But if there's one thing that we need to praise, they have a good sense of humor. And no one else is better to remind us of it than the one and only Kim Kardashian.
Last week social media went bonkers with Kim Kardashian’s first time hosting SNL. She kicked off the show by delivering a monologue that drove viewers wild with excitement. Praise was all over the social media chatter, and they were 100% right. The influencer turned cosmetic and fashion mogul delivered the goods. And no one was safe. I mean, NO ONE!
Kim performed other four other live scenes too. Of course, in one of them, she found an opportunity to bring some members of the Kardashian klan: momager Kris and desperately-seeking-for-fame-while-pretending-to-be-genuine Khloe. In one sketch, Kim played the role of Kourtney, which was kind of sketchy because it looked like it was her way to keep Kourt out of the court – sorry couldn't resist. Kim also was clever enough to use SNL to promote her highly successful shapewear line Skims, making the final sketch all about it. Always a businesswoman.
But the most important take out from Kim's appearance was on her monologue. While hilariously roasting her family, Kim claimed she is no Karen. Kim isn't a “white woman seeming to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal”– Karen's most common definition. Instead, Kim's public persona is kind of the opposite. Chill and cool, she isn't entitled at all. She is no gold digger, too – mocking on her opening monologue she had to ask tips on how to be a gold digger from her mom's boyfriend, Corey. Kim Kardashian made her own money, and she made a lot of money! Her fortune is estimated to be 1 billion dollars. A staggering amount of wealth that was built over 20 seasons of her reality show, social media-powered product endorsement and collaborations, celebrity appearances, a successful shapewear brand, and a 3 billion dollar deal with global cosmetic brand Coty. The once most googled woman in the world who broke the internet, as controversial as she still is, has polished her act well over the years. From the shallow party girl Paris Hilton's sidekick and sex tape star, to an accomplished businesswoman and prison reform activist, she helped reshape the 21st-century women's look. In so many ways.
However, it's impossible to ignore her tremendous negative effect on women's body image by promoting on Instagram an impossible look to obtain. Constantly sharing her glamorous and wealthy lifestyle, she often sounded tone-deaf, to say the least, too. But if she looks utterly unrelatable on one side, she comes off as like a regular person on the other side. In many ways detaching herself from the original pack, Kim forger herself a new public image – she obviously was clever enough to surround herself with a savvy support team too. But, of course, Kanye has a lot to do with it, and she always finds an opportunity to acknowledge it. She also acknowledged on SNL, that she divorced him because of his personality. We can relate to that too.
Last week on SNL, Kim presented her best side to the world – ok, maybe her second best. But anyway, unlike Karen, Kim is a proud and confident non-white woman who knows where she comes from, who isn't ashamed of it and is willing to have a laugh about it with us.
I always hated the expression "laughing all the way to the bank" because it's the most negative declaration of American capitalism; it doesn't matter what you do as long you make money. But the Kardashian clan spun it, chewed on it, and then shamelessly regurgitated it out to the world's entertainment. However, if the judgment is still open if they will have the last laugh, for the average American woman who might still be dreaming of being financially independent and having full ownership of her own body, Kim Kardashian sets herself as a very important empowering figure. If it’s disingenuous and self-serving or not, truth be told, her audience doesn't care at all.
While society is still reckoning its role in mocking Britney Spears' challenges and contributing to her psychological public meltdown, Kim offers an entirely different take on the burdens of public life. After all, she made a fortune, and created an empire, by basically sharing her life for public consumption. Like she said on SNL, she is used to 360 million followers watching her every move making the 10 million SNL audience for her a chill, intimate night. Laughing about themselves and banking on it is key to the Kardashian brand– how else could they have survived?
Considering the obstacles women face to survive in a male-dominated society, we have to admit that for an Armenian-American-non-Karen woman to achieve so much–and still be willing to laugh about herself– is refreshing and an achievement in itself. So, looking from this perspective, it's kind of hard not to like Kim.