Kylie Jenner has reached phenomenal amounts of fame for doing next to nothing. She is only important because of her family's insane reality TV show and their strange ability to all be conventionally good-looking. But of course, I am not contributing anything original by claiming that the Kardashians don't offer anything of substance to America or pop culture. They're (arguably) pretty, they're dramatic, and they're rich. That's all.

Moving on to non-substantive attributes: the Kardashians are entertaining. They are fun to watch, and even more fun to make fun of. Khloe is gloriously sassy and real. Kim is a princess and it's hilarious. Kourtney is a health nut valley girl with a hilariously destructive (ex)husband. Kris loves to play the victim but she's just trying to keep up with the trends and it's endearing. Caitlyn is a republican.

And then there are Kylie and Kendall, the babes. Kendall seems to fit in with the golden girls of pop culture: Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, and Karlie Kloss, to name a few. They are cute, independent, fairly smart, and seemingly good people. They only date off the A list. They have actual careers that they care about. You get the idea.

So where did Kylie come from? On the show (which yes, I watch) she is 20 percent quiet and stylish and 80 percent whiny spoiled annoying baby.

She complains constantly and doesn't appreciate the close family bond** that the others seem to value. She has a ton of other vapid friends, and while they have minimal screen time I hate all of them without fail. She's passive but stubborn, she's spoiled, and she is materialistic.

So, if she's so bad, why are thousands of people all over the world obsessed with her? Why will people go to torrid lengths to be like her?

Well, probably because of how she looks.

She is *apparently* pushing the envelope. She made lips a thing. I can't help but insert here that most of her exciting trends were already a thing before she started doing them, but she just had much more visibility than the people she stole from.

Not to mention, she has a second, even more insipid effect on society (the first one being that she has any effect on society at all). She, along with her sisters and many other cultural icons, have been imitating black culture without any credit where credit is due. Kylie has really run the gamut of appropriation, from cornrows

to her signature lips

Don't get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with having big lips or a big butt, or with wearing your hair in protective styles. You do you. The problem is not that these things are "trends" or even that Kylie goes to extreme lengths to achieve these looks. I honestly think that she should plump her ass and lips to whatever extent she wants, she has the money and it's a free country. The problem, as per always, is this ridiculous country that we live in.

When Kylie Jenner has big lips and a big butt, she's a goddess, a style icon, an inspiration, a sexy woman. When women of color have these attributes, they are unattractive or even repulsive to mainstream society. Why this double standard? Well, it's rooted in a tradition of racism and colorism in this country which has made it a sin to be "too black." Kylie can get cornrows, and because it's done in her straight hair with her light skin, it's considered "fashion forward." When people of color get cornrows, it's too "hood" or "ghetto" to be stylish.

It's like rock and roll all over again.

It's not that any of the historically awful appropriators of this country (from Elvis to Katy Perry to Iggy Azalea) can't be inspired by black culture. It is just that they get more recognition than their talented counterparts. They sell better than the people they are copying, simply because they are white. Adele and Sam Smith are extremely popular soul/gospel style singers, although there are many more talented black singers who are never recognized at the same level.

This skin color popularity contest can be applied to people of color too: those who are lighter skinned (Beyoncé) often are more popular than equally talented, darker-skinned counterparts (Jennifer Hudson). And Americans have been doing this since our inception, to all different peoples and cultures. We, the white people, are allowed to wear and do whatever we want, gain inspiration from whomever, and never get questioned about who's culture we are stealing. Meanwhile, people of color are treated as somehow inherently different or lesser just due to their ethnicity, and their own culture is seen as low-class.

Amandla Stenberg made an amazing video talking about the whole matter, you should check it out if you haven't already.

But back to Kylie. She has ushered in a new age in fashion, the age of the big, beautiful lips. Hers are constantly praised for their attractiveness. Just recently, MAC cosmetics shared a photo of model Aamito Stacie Lagum's lips in a beautiful purple.

Beautiful, just like Jenner? Well, unfortunately, there were a number of awful, racist comments on the photo.

As an ally, I can only claim an interest in the matter, and not a role. I do recognize the awful reality that some people might take this article more seriously than many other, much better, articles on the matter, just because I am white. I might even be appropriating by writing this. I really hope to never be taking anybody's voice or opinion, or for any community to feel "spoken for." Yes, I love Beyoncé's "Formation," I love Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly," I love making my curly hair huge and wild, I love my big butt. What I try to do is appreciate these things, but never begin to see them as somehow mine. I am constantly trying to be aware of when I am celebrating and when I am appropriating. I recognize where my appreciation for these things came from, and I love them with that history and origin in mind.

As a white millennial, I am trying to reach my demographic: recognize people as people, and to celebrate the things that are amazing about them as they are. Note here that by celebrate I vehemently do NOT mean copy, fetishize, otherize, or take as our own.

My opinion on the matter is that Kylie is a rotten person. We shouldn't support her crazy expensive lip kits or her fashion lines or her smartphone game. She's a wealthy, vapid, culturally insensitive teenager. She doesn't deserve the spotlight. Many other people do.

#boycottkylie

** read here: contractual obligation to appear together on television

*** in this photo Kylie is holding a butt "plumping cream" which can be found for lips, boobs, and the signature buttox. She endorses this company, Pure Leef, who's slogan is "workout to lose weight, not curves!"