There’s a few do’s and don’ts when encouraging body positivity, and the biggest don’t would probably be: don’t make thinness (or the illusion of thinness) be the ultimate goal.
Khloé Kardashian yesterday released her five tips to “look thin AF” in photos, including sage advice as wearing black, avoiding harsh sunlight, and in a pinch, literally hiding behind your (thinner) friends.
I got you boos!! 😉 https://t.co/9iIWetwvkC
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) March 9, 2018
And while we get what she was trying to do here – Khloé has spoken openly about her body image issues for years, and being unhappy with how you look in photographs isn’t a ‘minor’ issue, body image-wise, for our Instagram-obsessed 2018 – but it didn’t go down particularly well.
“For somebody who promotes body confidence (and you do so very well), this is disappointing,” one fan said.
“Why don’t you try and use your platform to encourage people to be themselves?” said another. “I don’t agree with ‘5 hacks to look thin AF in pics’, everyone is beautiful in their own people. People don’t need to look thin just for Instagram. I really like you as a person Khloé but don’t like this.”
Even The Good Place star Jameela Jamil, who has been on a body positivity campaign that literally started as a reaction to a post comparing the weights of the Kardashian-Jenners, had something to say.
“WTF Khloé?” she tweeted, posting a screenshot of Khloé’s Instagram story. “Girls keep sending me this screen shot and saying it’s making them feel bad. Unfollow ANYONE who stirs low self esteem in you. Make Instagram a safe space for yourself rather than a trap of pointless poison.”
https://twitter.com/jameelajamil/status/972487285802283009
https://twitter.com/NerdAboutTown/status/972773457846067200
https://twitter.com/NerdAboutTown/status/972773058548240384
https://twitter.com/Just_AnotherHB/status/972169213816262656
Khloe noooooooo
— lex croucher (@lexcroucher) March 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/artistiqwalrus/status/972174472924024832
Oh boy, terrible piece of content. For someone who promotes body confidence (and you do so very well), this is disappointing…
— Lauren Haxell (@LaurenHax) March 9, 2018
I don’t want to look ‘thin AF’ though. I’d rather look healthy AF.
— Amy Woolley (@Amy_Woolley) March 9, 2018
At the time of writing, Khloé – who often interacts with fans on Twitter – hasn’t replied to any of the criticism.
It’s clear what she was trying to do here, but when you have as massive a platform as she does, and literally a (questionable) television show about getting into shape, you need to do better than promote outdated, unhealthy advice where thinness is the ultimate goal.
