Essay Sample on Kim Kardashian: A Global Cultural Icon

Introduction

Kim Kardashian is a household celebrity name in the United States of America, and much of the world, by extension hence, a cultural icon. Other than being rich, she is also very famous for her voluptuous body and sexy appearance. For this reason, Kim Kardashian of the Kardashian family dynasty is regarded globally as at least among the top 10 most beautiful women in the world (Fortini). At the mention of the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian is in the minds and perceptions of fanatics of their reality TV shows as well as celebrity lifestyle hype on entertainment press. Consequently, Kim's beauty and looks have been objectified by society as it is the only thing that she is famous for, nothing else. However, the objectification of women did not begin with Kim Kardashian, the course text includes a poem from the list of metaphysical poetry by Andrew Marvell dubbed "To His Coy Mistress." This paper argues that objectification of women is a continuous aspect of societal appreciation of beauty and should therefore not be viewed as a negative attribute rather, an aspect of appreciating women for their inviting appearance.

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Kim Kardashian is a socialite who epitomizes the obsession of people with beauty. As an American icon of the lust of men, Kim's appeal in the media's entertainment industry makes her a household name. During the winter season of 2014, the PAPER Magazine published a series of Kim Kardashians semi-nude photos and published them on the internet earning the hashtag "#BreakTheInternetKimKardashian" on 12th November 2014. Apparently, the most talked about thing in the series of photographs was Kim's derriere which was amusing and quite seductive. Whereas men lusted and admired her rear, women admired and envied her gorgeous looks (Fortini). The admiration of Kim's body is a modern times cultural artifact as it typifies the culture of objectifying women for their good looks.

Although Kim Kardashian came into the public spotlight owing to her family name, she has since amassed a cult-like following from fanatics through her beautiful fairytale barbie doll looks that men find quite seductive (Fortini). The November 2014 issue of the PAPER Magazine brought out this fact when it posted images of the superstar half-naked on the internet. As such, the visual enlisted a finger liking type of response from fans of Kim Kardashian who either admired or admonished her in equal measure judging from the hate-love comments the images received on social media platforms such as Twitter (Fortini). Hate her or lover her, Kim Kardashian is indeed a modern depiction of ingrained cultural representation of the nature of lust that society has for women and the admiration for beauty. The image below of Kim was circulated on the internet.

Figure 1 Kim Kardashian Posing for Paper Magazine's Break the Internet Shoot. (Source: Fortini).

One might think that modern society is depraved and; hence, the degeneration of principles such as decency or subtlety in the expression of sexuality and desire were a thing past societies held of high esteem. On the contrary, however, the course text reveals that although the methods of expressions may differ, past societies were equally depraved when it comes to matters about sex, desire, and lust for women's beauty as espoused in the X-rated poem "To His Mistress" by Andrew Marvell. The poem has explicit imagery that reveals not only a perverted mind or tone of voice in the vivid description of the woman's body parts but also a lack of decorum in bluntly and unashamedly declaring a man's lustful desire for the beautiful looks of the woman.

Plainly put, nothing much has changed in society about how people express their appreciation for good looks and particularly feminine beauty. In admiration Marvell addresses parts of the body of a woman who is the subject of address in his poem. He mentions that he will need 200 years to adore each of her breasts and thirty thousand years to admire the rest of her physique. He alludes to the fact that an entire age is not enough to explore her body entirely, and yet still he would not be filled or satisfied (Marvell). Whereas in the past romantics like Marvell used their words to express their desire and appreciation for the appearance of feminine beauty, likewise, modern-day lust is expressed through the love, attention, and obsession that people attach to images of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian.

Conclusion

Consequently, it is safe to conclude that the objectification of women in the past and at present has always been part of acceptable moral conduct in society. Although daring and audacious, both Kim Kardashian's break the internet photoshoot and Andrew Marvell's poem epitomizes the same concept of objectification of women. Equally, in both cases, women are objectified as creatures of admiration, the subject of expression of love, appreciation, and admiration from predominantly men. For this reason, it is in order to conclude that objectification of women is a cultural norm that should not be negatively connoted to disrespect of women, rather, a means whereby beauty is acknowledged through objectified approbation. In essence, the objectification of women is a continuous aspect of societal gratitude of beauty and should therefore not be viewed as an undesirable trait rather, an aspect of appreciating women for their pleasing appearance.

Works Cited

Fortini, Amanda. "Break the Internet: Kim Kardashian." PAPER 12 November 2014. 24 03 2020. <https://www.papermag.com/break-the-internet-kim-kardashian-cover-1427450475.html>.

Marvell, Andrew. "To his coy mistress." Poetry Foundation 1681. 24 03 2020. <https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress>.