"There’s a lot of baggage that comes with us. But it’s like Louis Vuitton baggage—you always want it." - Kim Kardashian
This quote was taken from a 2011 interview where Kim K reveals that yeah, her family may be a little crazy, but the public loves crazy. "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" is an E! cable network reality show. This American reality television series focuses on the professional and far too personal glorified lives of the Kardashian and Jenner blended family. The show first aired in October of 2007 after Ryan Seacrest expressed interest in making what is now a world-famous reality television show. Since 2007, Seacrest. who is now the executive producer, has made the show tone of the longest-running reality television series in the country!
"Keeping Up With The Kardashians" mainly focuses on the arguably most famous voluptuous and power-driven Kardashian, Kim.The series also showcases the other more famous family members such as sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian. In addition. the show features the parents who started it all, Kris and Caitlyn Jenner (previously known as Bruce Jenner), and the two children that came out of their marriage, the half-sisters to Kim, Khloe and Kourtney, Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Rob Kardashian is also featured, but not much as his sisters after he started gaining a substantial amount of weight and did not want to be seen on camera. Other familiar faces include Jonathan Cheban, Kim K's BFF. And who could forget Scott Disick, Kourtney's long-time boyfriend and baby daddy?
"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" has received a huge amount of very poor reviews from critics since its premiere. It's often criticized for highly emphasizing the "famous for being famous" concept and for glorifying gender stereotypes. Some people absolutely swear by the show while others view it as complete trash. Several magazines and papers critique the show as showing a lack of intelligence and described the family as being famous for no reason at all. Vice versa, many publications recognize the E! reality series show to be a success and a “guilty pleasure.” These critics argue that the family's success is a huge accomplishment and should be looked up to.
Despite different reviews, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" has attracted a huge audience, but is that audience only reinforcing the stereotypical gender roles we are trying to get rid of? I say, yes! I argue that even though the Kardashian women are all “breadwinners” themselves and are powerful women, some other aspects of the show only diminish these great accomplishments.
Although "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" does show some progressive female representation, there's still much wrong with it in that it also depicts the female characters to be subordinate, vain and dumb. Though there are very few reality programs that feature women as the main subject, "KUWTK" definitely focuses on women, but unfortunately, that focus may be in an extremely negative light. Yes, the Kardashian women are all very powerful, hold their own careers and make their own money, and for this, I applaud them. What I don’t think is worth applauding is the fact that these women are depicted as weaker women who are all physically attractive, and therefore displayed as sex symbols instead of role models.
One of the biggest problems I see in the show is the amount of footage that is shot in the home. Although all of the Kardashian women hold careers with the Kardashian brand, a very large chunk of the show is set inside their homes. I understand that there's going to be footage of them there, but if you take a close look at the past 11 seasons, you'll see that a huge amount of content is all filmed inside their home. This footage only reinforces the huge stereotype that women belong in the home and not out making careers for themselves.
When taking a closer look at how the women are portrayed on the show, they come off as dumb and extremely vain. Could these women really be all of these things? Possibly, but instead on focusing on these negative stereotypes that portray women's main purpose as looking pretty, I think that the show should focus more on their achievements and less on their sexualized bodies.
The Kardashian women extend so much further than what their show depicts. I believe they could be looked up to as strong female role models, but unfortunately, their own show doesn't serve them justice. It actually limits them and creates a barrier. The stereotypes in "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" are not only confining, but offensive to female progress.
