Dani Fleischer
- Let's Stop Pretending Kim Kardashian is a Feminist
But mostly, the perspective we should be concerned about is that of all those young girls who are following Kardashian on social media - and taking notes about where to find their worth. That's why this matters. They are looking at her, and they are looking at how she is exalted by so many people, and they are developing their senses of personhood accordingly.
Dani Fleischer
- Let's Stop Pretending Kim Kardashian is a Feminist
The defense of Kim Kardashian boils down to this: society profits from images of the naked female form, she should be able to as well. Which seems to me a variation of: "Well, if you can hate women then I can too." And sure, she certainly can, but I'd love it if the rest of us could stop pretending that she's breaking any glass ceilings by doing so.
Rose Burke
- Kim Kardashian is a Horrible 'Mother'
Even if she may not care for the fans she has influenced negatively, she seems to not realize that her daughter is growing up quickly and is likely already forming bad habits based on her obsession with her looks and celebrity status. Looks should be the last thing a young girl should be concerned with, and it's clear that that isn't something that's being taught in her household.
Dani Fleischer
- Let's Stop Pretending Kim Kardashian is a Feminist
As feminists we should be looking to dismantle the system by which we use nudity to buy and sell things, not reinforce it. We should be trying to demolish the premise that female nudity equals dollar signs, and dollar signs equal everything there is about what it means to be a successful woman. We should be trying to change the perspectives of those who see women as a commodity to be bought and sold by others.
Dani Fleischer
- Let's Stop Pretending Kim Kardashian is a Feminist
I'd be lying if I said I know what the word feminism means anymore. But I know it's about re-defining the terms by which we talk and think about women. Which means ultimately it's about the effort to change the perception of women-to shift the paradigm of how we are seen by others. And Kim Kardashian does nothing to shift that paradigm. What she does - everything she is, in fact - reinforces all of the negative stereotypes of women: vain, catty, sexualized, and vacant.
Dani Fleischer
- Let's Stop Pretending Kim Kardashian is a Feminist
Kim Kardashian isn't fighting the system by which flesh is used to buy and sell things - she is the system. And the product she's peddling is herself - pouty and over-sexualized, as seen through the lens of that very male gaze that determines all of our standards of beauty. She is embracing all those standards, not rejecting them. Her empire is paid for by the same national obsession with wealth and fame and beauty that funds the advertising industry.
Talia Klein Perez
- Kardashians are Whores
A sex tape, nude selfies, cocktails, shopping... let's face it, the Kardashian women are not exactly the epitome of modern model female behavior. From Kim dressing her young daughter in a corset dress to Kendall's tone deaf Pepsi commercial, rather than using their corporate prowess to demonstrate how women can do the same as their male counterparts, the Kardashians have shown the public how batting your eyelashes and swishing your skirts can get you ahead in life.
Vix Meldrew
- Kardashian Trash - Kardashian Appetite-suppressing Lollipops
The Kardashian women call themselves feminists. Unless of course you have a larger body - in that case, you must suppress your appetite. She could use her enormous public profile to tell women that they can dress however they like and that they should celebrate their bodies, whatever their size. She could share tips on healthy and sustainable ways to change your lifestyle. But instead it seems that she just doesn't think about her followers at all.
Vix Meldrew
- Toxic Kardashians
The Kardashian follower demographic is largely made up of young girls and women who look up to the clan as role models. It has been 11 years since they first burst onto our screens in Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The show has since become a way of life for many of their fans, who strive daily to "keep up" by buying their expensive makeup products, appropriating their style - which is already appropriated from black culture - and obsessing over their every move on social media.
Joel Stein
- Trolls
Internet trolls have a manifesto of sorts, which states they are doing it for the "lulz," or laughs. What trolls do for the lulz ranges from clever pranks to harassment to violent threats. When victims do not experience lulz, trolls tell them they have no sense of humor. Trolls are turning social media and comment boards into a giant locker room in a teen movie, with towel-snapping racial epithets and misogyny.
Elise Moreau
- Types of Internet Trolls; The Profanity And All Caps Troll
The profanity and all-caps troll is the guy who has nothing really of value to add to the discussion, spewing only F-bombs and other curse words with his caps lock button left on. In many cases, these types of trolls are just bored kids looking for something to do without needing to put too much thought or effort into anything. On the other side of the screen, they're often harmless.
Ragen Chastain
- Why do Trolls Troll?
The subject of how functioning humans devolve into internet trolls is complicated - especially because you can't trust them to tell you the truth. Some of them sound like teenage boys, because they are. Others are adults whose bodies made it out of junior high, but whose maturity was tragically left behind. Some justify their behavior with rhetoric that would be at home at a neo-nazi rally.
Francesca Ramsey
- Jokes
It's just not funny to disrespect other people's beliefs, backgrounds, cultures, or identities when those are deeply rooted in longstanding oppression. Jokes that punch down on marginalized people require no creativity because they've existed since the beginning of time. It's like telling a knock-knock joke and believing you're Richard Pryor.
Jack Handey
- Deep Thoughts
A think a good gift for the President would be a chocolate revolver and since he is so busy, you'd probably have to run up to him real quick and give it to him.
Jack Handey
- Deep Thoughts
Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny.
Margaret Atwood
- The Handmaid's Tale
I sit at the little table, eating creamed corn with a fork. I have a fork and a spoon, but never a knife. When there's meat they cut it up for me ahead of time, as if I'm lacking manual skills or teeth. I have both, however. That's why I'm not allowed a knife.
P.J. O'Rourke
- Stupidity
No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed, and love of power.
Scott Adams
- Stupidity
Scientists will eventually stop flailing around with solar power and focus their efforts on harnessing the only truly unlimited source of energy on this planet: stupidity. I predict that in the future, scientists will learn how to convert stupidity into clean fuel.
Glenn Greenwald
- Stupidity
There's a perennial debate about whether the propagandistic tripe produced by establishment media outlets is shaped more by evil or by stupidity. Personally, I think it's both: a healthy dose of each is needed. The system design is malicious, while those who serve as its public face are generally vacant.
Prabal Gurung
- 'Reality' Television
It saddens me to see the reality television shows that are getting so much fanfare that are a celebration of stupidity and the degradation of women. And those women are consistently wearing too short, too tight dresses. I hope the trend of aging gracefully returns.
