Remember a few months ago when Kim Kardashian posted a naked selfie? Then again, how could anyone actually forget? Especially since the photo (and the subsequent selfie she posted with Emily Ratajkowski) caused quite a commotion. Well, Kardashian recently addressed the nude selfie controversy on Recode Decode and her response may surprise you. By "surprising," I mean it may show you misunderstood her attitude about these photos, but unsurprisingly her comeback is rather awesome. During the podcast, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star said,
My personality has never been, "I’m such a feminist and follow me and be naked!" If you are conservative and that’s how you are comfortable, more power to you. I respect you. You don’t have to look at what I do.
I love these comments for numerous reasons. First of all, she's making it clear that she doesn't define feminism as being naked — and she's not saying other women have to follow in her footsteps or even look at the photos. I remember reading various articles when her first nude selfie came out, where writers tried to explain that being naked doesn't equal feminism, as if that was the intended takeaway. Instead, if I'm understanding her correctly, I think it's that Kardashian feels comfortable and confident in herself and her body, so she shouldn't have to hide that. People mistook her message and believed she was saying that posing half-dressed was the only way to be empowered.
Also, Kardashian is acknowledging that everyone has a different level of comfort. If some people are comfortable covering up, that's still empowering, because that's how they are living their life how they choose. The whole point should be about being able to present yourself and your body however you want, without being judged. She respects others for how they choose to dress, so why can't others give her the same respect? This is reminiscent of criticism from fellow celebs, such as Pink or Chloe Grace Moretz, who tried to convey a message of women being more than their bodies. Of course that's a valuable point, but if they're proud and want to embrace their bodies, why not do so? Women shouldn't be shamed for loving themselves.
In the same interview with Decode Recode, the reality star said, "I truly was baffled when people still cared. They have seen me naked 500 times!" Honestly, that's a great point too. How many times has Kardashian posed naked at this point? I think it would say a lot if we got to the point where it wasn't a big deal. Because really, it shouldn't be. Also, it should be noted that despite being naked, there were two giant black bars in the photo; it's not like she was actually completely exposing herself.
The moral of the story is that Kim K isn't changing anytime soon — and she shouldn't have to. Empowerment isn't defined in only one way, and people may have mistaken the message Kardashian was sending with her photos. Good thing she finally cleared the air.
Image: Giphy
