Time Magazine released its “30 Most Influential Teens of 2015” list, and MTV published an article titled “Unpopular Opinion: Kendall and Kylie Jenner Are Just As Influential As Malala. ”
Though the article includes Kendall in its headline, the piece surrounds the comparison between Malala and Kylie Jenner, as if even the writer knows that Kendall has made a name for herself in modeling and does not need to be stood up for as much as the girl whose biggest influence has been the #KylieJennerLipChallenge, in which people across the world tried to mimic the surgery she had on her lips to make them appear fuller. This, the teenage girl who changed her face in order to fit into what society views as beautiful, and to aid in the sexualization of herself in order to establish her brand, is who MTV tried to argue is just as influential as Malala Yousafzai. Malala was shot by the Taliban at 15-years-old for being a woman who chose to go to school despite knowing their hate for the idea of a woman being educated. That is not comparable to someone who chooses to make their name by attracting attention through the use of booty pictures and colorful hair dye.
Speaking of Kylie and Kendall Jenner, writer Justina Sharp wrote, “In the opinion of the list’s critics, Kylie, and her sister, model Kendall Jenner, have no place there. That’s where they’re wrong. In my opinion, they’ve both contributed greatly to society — just in vastly different ways.” If this were her main argument, there would be no issue. Here she simply states that the Jenners are impactful, which is undeniably true. They reach millions of people every day through social media and, with one picture or action, can set the world abuzz. Kylie used this power to create an app and to partner with Instagram on an anti-bullying campaign. So yes, she is worthy of being on the list, but it’s the fact the writer so vehemently says that her impact is the same as the impact of Malala that cannot be left alone. They're from two different worlds: Kylie is a social media model, and Malala is a Nobel Peace Prize award winner.
Sharp goes on to compare the experience of Malala to that of the Jenners, writing, “We forget when we compare these girls of the worlds they grew up in and the way their lives were shaped. Malala was just Malala, until that day on the bus. … We’ve applied the same attitude towards [Kylie] that we apply to aging Disney stars: 'How dare you grow up, when you’ve been a child this whole time?' ... We infantilize, forgetting that many of these kids grew up years before they turn 18. Kylie is no different.”
Yes, it’s true that we have a hard time watching those we loved as children grow and be touched by the world, and we do struggle with continuing to think of them as children when they make adult decisions, but we are not forgetting that they grew up differently. That’s part of the problem. Before the incident even happened, Malala was not just some girl on a bus; she was a girl refusing to be intimidated by the Taliban and continued to seek education. Now, the defining time between Malala’s shooting, she has spoke at the UN General Assembly in order to appeal for the release of the school girls abducted by the Boko Haram, and used her popularity to promote her #BooksNotBullets campaign, which told politicians to redirect a portion of military spending toward global education, and on her 18th birthday she traveled to Lebanon to open a school on a Syrian refugee camp. On Kylie’s 18th birthday, she hosted a giant party at a club where she boasted her new blonde hair color and made two dress changes before receiving a Ferrari as a gift from her rapper boyfriend, Tyga. Before then, from the moment we met her until now, the growing up stage Sharp says we’re forgetting, there wasn’t much of a difference.
Sharp finishes by writing, “She has earned her place. The spot right next to Malala,” and it has been a long time since I’ve read something so presumptuously untrue.
