Kardashian’s Paper debut reflects shame-free culture

Without a doubt, Kim Kardashian “broke the Internet” last week with her nude debut on the front cover of Paper magazine.

Her blatant desire to gain more fame by exposing her body to the world via mass media is a valid reason why this form of expression in today’s culture must be regulated and censored. Recently, the series of racy photos has received some serious backlash and attention from various media outlets. More than that, though, the photos point to a culture that rewards exploitation and objectification of the female body.

Since similar photos of popular celebrities have been released in the past decade, it seems that this emerging shame-free culture has no regard for tasteful or creative behavior. Rather, this form of expression promotes a  means to push female empowerment and popularity that should be more strictly regulated and censored.

With the general populace buzzing about her racy cover photos rather than finding the appropriate means to regulate and censor such action, Kardashian is being rewarded for her behavior.

Individuals have bought into her actions by demanding more of her. She landed on Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list at #80, above Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep and powerhouse author J.K. Rowling, for raking in an estimated $28 million between June 2013 and 2014. She also made more cash from public appearances than she did for any of her television work.

Speaking of net worth in this culture almost completely obliterates the idea of self-worth. When Kardashian objectified her body on the front cover of Paper, she also contributed to the objectification and body shaming of millions of other girls. But, the blame cannot rest on Kim Kardashian alone. Recently, Victoria’s Secret released an ad campaign that similarly objectified body image by promoting the “perfect body.”

These two cases alone present an astonishing problem in today’s society. Young children who will represent our future generation are constantly surrounded by ads and magazines that promote the necessity to fit a certain body image.

This particular concept is famously noted in Tina Fey’s book Bossypants, in which Fey discusses a list of ideals that society has drilled into the minds of young women. In one of Fey’s excerpts, she compares the paradox for women to be expected to have Caucasian blue eyes and full Spanish lips. Fey further notes how Kardashian fits into these traits. “The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes,” Fey said.

According to the Renfrew Center, an eating disorder facility, only 5 percent of women have the body type that advertisements portray as ideal. This statistic should concern the populace and initiate action towards censoring nude or racy images that objectify the human body.

Moreover, regulation of racy expression is not a case against feminism.

Kardashian doesn’t seem to be trying to prove that women were entitled to something more after giving birth — she was merely looking for a way to stay in the news after her pregnancy. Kardashian provides a quintessential example on the issue of body image. After giving birth, Kardashian reportedly practiced dangerous measures to lose weight because she knew a slim body would continue to contribute to her net worth.

Images similar to Kardashian’s in Paper are of great detriment to young women and must constitute a call for action. Female empowerment should not come from a woman flaunting a body that fits the ideals represented in the mass media — society must take measures to ensure this.

Rather than creating buzz about Kardashian’s actions, individuals must do more to secure censorship and regulation by policy implementation.