Arguably the most well know women in the world showed up to the MET Gala this past week in an all black outfit with nothing but her hair exposed. This being the complete opposite of what society was expecting to see Ms. Kardashian in. As we discuss embodiment, Kim’s attire speaks volumes to this concept, as she is the face of female sexuality in American cluture. Embodiment: The expectations and constraints on how society sees an individuals body. In Kim’s case this expectation differs based upon her fame.
How we take up space and how we are expected to take up space are two differing things, Kim in many ways has set the standards for how young women should try to look, thus only allowing fat in very specific places, along with perfect hair and makeup 100% of the time. But with these standards and expectations that she has set and built her platform upon, have affected her as well, by Kim continuously being perceived in a sexualized manner, and basking it in so long, it is hard for society to accept the “new” Kim without sexualizing her as well, especially as she shifts career paths into becoming a lawyer.
As a somewhat response to this, Kim wore a full length black T-shirt dress that covered every square inch of her body… to the MET gala. The theme this year for the MET gala was American Independence. What Kim’s vision seems to be is to show American culture through the reaction in which Kim received wearing the outfit. The point being, even as she is coving all of her body she still seems to be hyper sexualized through the recognition of her body, this being that Kim is instantly recognizable by her body even with the absence of her face, as mentioned in BuzzFeeds article “For someone who is always criticized for being overly sexual, Kim showed that she can cover every square inch of her skin and still find a way to be criticized and ridiculed,” one fan wrote in a Tweet that Kim reposted on her Instagram story last night. “THAT is American culture.” This hyper sexualization is only successfully done as the outfit is skin tight, this speaking to the expectation of women’s clothing in fashion. Thus proving to the world how objectified Kim is.
Unruly Bodies 
I really enjoyed this article because it is a conversation I have with myself quite often. The Kardashians are responsible for so much harm in terms of societal beauty standards, particularly when you take into account their commodification of body traits that are especially common in black women. That being said, despite being the originator of and building their empire/fortune off of these toxic beauty standards, they also experience the negative effects of said standards. Kim Kardashian became famous for being a ‘sex symbol.’ But the sexual nature of her career has affected her in every context, to where she can be completely covered and still objectified by the world. I think the world’s reaction to Kim’s look shows that in a harmful system, even those who hold power/profit in that system will ultimately still be subjected to whatever made the system harmful in the first place.
I love your analysis of Kim’s MET Gala outfit. When I first saw her outfit, I didn’t fully understand what she was doing. I had been told it was a comment on how her body IS American pop-culture, but I wasn’t sure how well that was evoked in an outfit that obscures her body so much. However, your point that even when she is completely covered, her silhouette is immediately recognizable, made the fit make sense. I had just taken for granted that I recognized Kim, but the fact that I could tell it was her while her face was completely hidden is insane. That says so much about how we have conceptualized Kim Kardashian as a figure, not a person. It is not her body that I recognized, but her waist, her curve, her figure that is so ubiquitous with American beauty at this moment in time. Thank you for your analysis! I don’t know that I would have had this realization and self-reflection without it.