Actor and body neutrality activist Jameela Jamil has explained why she hasn’t spoken up about a recent photo of Kim Kardashian, despite it being sent to her via “over 1000 DMs”.
Kim recently shared a throwback pic from preparations for the 2019 Met Gala, when she used a corset to shrink her waist to an unnaturally small size.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBw_u1HA_uM/
Jameela, who launched her body neutrality project I Weigh in response to the Kardashian-Jenners, explained why she didn’t call out Kim for this pic, despite believing it to be “damaging and disappointing”.
“It’s because the fact that you’re all messaging me about it, shows my work is done,” Jameela said.
“I haven’t been trying to cancel Kim K. I was always trying to arm YOU with the knowledge to recognise for YOURSELVES that this is a bullshit expectation of women, developed by the patriarchy. If YOU know that it’s problematic, reductive and irresponsible for her to perpetuate such a heavily impossible beauty standard to her impressionable fans… then you’re empowered and conscious and don’t need me.”
She said that Kim and her sisters had likely experienced “decades of body image issues and obsession”, and that she was not “actively trying to harm” her audience.
“She’s just so harmed and deluded into thinking this is what SHE needs to look like to be special and beautiful and she’s spilling it out onto her following,” Jameela said.
“Is this wrong? YES. But I’m not sure she realises that she’s doing to others what her idols did to her, in making her think a tiny waist is the key to femininity and sex appeal.
Jameela pointed to the 90s era of ‘Heroin Chic’, when being super skinny wasn’t just the ideal body type, but the only body type celebrated.
“We were told you HAD to look like an addict starving to death, so to go from that.. to being bullied about your body by the world? This toxicity from someone who is smart and knows better, is a sign that this is harm she can’t stop doing,” Jameela said.
“There’s no point in screaming at her. The smart thing to do is to protect YOURSELF. YOU have the power. YOU control every Market. YOU choose what and who is trendy. Unfollow the people who tell you things that hurt your self esteem. Don’t let the debris of their damage spill out onto you. Unfollow people/brands that don’t make you feel powerful and happy and grateful for what you have.
“You’re the boss and none of them are shit without you.”
She finished her post with an all caps message: “THE PATRIARCHY WANTS US TO FOCUS ON OUR WEIGHT INSTEAD OF POWER, EQUALITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FREEDOM. FUCK ANYONE WHO ENCOURAGES THIS.
“BLOCK. MUTE. DELETE. REPEAT.”
Jameela’s post received more than 12,000 comments, with celebs like Natalie Portman, Catriona Balfe and Raven Symone (who recently shared some bloody gorge pics of her secret wedding) showing their love for it.
“I mean, I’ve been here with this mentality!” Raven wrote. “Leggo!!!”
It’s not the first time – obvs – Kim’s tiny waist has drawn backlash. After last year’s Met Gala, even her personal trainer hit back at critics.
“To make things clear 1. This dress is corseted BUT 2. Kim trains her ass off 6 days a fucking week, she wakes up early AF and is dedicated. 3. I paved the road for her but SHE did the work!” trainer Melissa Alcantara said at the time.
“MOST IMPORTANTLY I don’t give a shit about your opinions on her body, if you think she fake or not! I see her every morning, I see her train and I see her sweat and I see all the work she does outside the gym and THAT is commendable!”
Look – Jameela doesn’t always get it right. But she’s made some valid points: Kim is presenting an impossible beauty standard (that is both hard to attain and can be dangerous) to her audience without any context. There’s no acknowledgement of the lengths it takes to look like that, even if it was to create a fantasy at the Met. If Jameela has helped thousands of people understand the context so sorely missing here, then she’s done her job perfectly.
