Kim Kardashian has been in the spotlight since age 26, using her fame to create a multimillion-dollar empire not just for herself, but for her entire family.
She runs a beauty empire, KKW Beauty, complete with a full range of cosmetics and fragrances, one of which sold out before people even smelt it. Her website is visited by thousands of women visit each month, she is one of the most followed people in the world on Instagram (114m and counting), and, not to mention, at the helm of a successful reality TV show which has been running for over a decade.
Whether you love her or hate her, there’s no denying Kardashian’s influence. Something so evident that the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards (CFDA) chose her to receive the first-ever Influencer Award in June of this year.
With the intense levels of public interest in everything and anything she does, it would be only natural to assume Kardashian has an acute awareness of her influence over the millions who follow her every move.
However, earlier this week, the mother-of-three proved otherwise, taking to Instagram Stories to post a series of videos showing sisters, Khloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, complimenting her for losing weight.
In one of the clips, Jenner is seen smiling as she says, “I’m really concerned, I don’t think you’re eating,” before adding, “You look so skinny.” Kardashian shrieks in delight and later reveals her exact weight without any context – the 37-year-old is just 159cm tall. The only pretext for the number on the scale? “But I will say, without my hair extensions, I am less.”
In another clip, sister Khloe says Kardashian is “anorexic” around her waist and that her arms are “pin thin” and the size of her pinky finger, before her friend, Malika Haqq, says Kardashian eats “different flavours of oxygen.” You get the picture.
But how damaging can videos like this really be?
According to The Butterfly Foundation’s CEO Christine Morgan, very. “We are committed to getting people to a place where they do not value themselves based on what is perceived to be the ideal size, that someone’s value as a person should not – and cannot – be linked to size or shape. By being praised for losing weight and using phrases like ‘anorexic,’ [the Kardashians] are influencing all of their followers to think ‘Oh gosh, someone is losing weight’ and that losing weight is a reason to praise her.”
“Anorexia isn’t a lifestyle choice, it’s a very serious mental illness and comments like these are perpetuating a belief that you can just be anorexic,” Morgan adds.
Morgan says that Kardashian’s comments are extremely triggering for those who suffer from an eating disorder, something reinforced by 24-year-old Nicola, who suffered from Anorexia Nervosa for six years.
“As my weight got lower, my thought patterns become more and more erratic – at one point, it was my dream was to die from anorexia, that was my view of doing well,” she says.
“When I reflect, something literally does take over, you’re not thinking clearly or in a normal way at all. I did things I would never do in my right mind at all now,” she says, noting how vulnerable she felt in that state.
“Something like this, especially hearing that positive gratification Kim’s getting from her sisters for losing weight, would 100% have set me off at the time,” Nicola says. “Any little comment about someone else losing weight is just an automatic trigger – for me, it could be as small as a passing comment from a girl at school, so I can’t imagine what it’s doing to the millions of young people who idolise her.”
In 2018 there are over a million Australians with an eating disorder and less than 25% of them are registered in the health service.
Mogan advises those who felt upset or triggered by Kardashian’s comments to reach out for help straight away. “Please reach out to someone for help who actually cares about your wellbeing and can help you get to a healthy place.”
If you or anyone you know is experiencing an eating disorder or body image concerns, you can call the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (ED HOPE) or visit www.thebutterflyfoundaton.org.au
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