Joanna Schroeder doesn’t have any particular attachment to “Kimye” but finds your anger at their Vogue cover annoying and baseless.
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I get it, you find Kim Kardashian and Kanye West annoying. “She’s famous for nothing!” you may say. “He’s such an egomaniac!” you shout.
I can’t disagree about him being an egomaniac. Though of course neither you nor I actually know if he is, because (I assume) neither of us knows him personally. We’re judging him on his public persona, the one he puts out there to help make himself super famous. He’s a public guy, he says things and does stuff in front of cameras, and most of it is probably pretty well-orchestrated. He’s a smart guy, after all.
But Kanye West is a talented and influential dude, and nobody can strip that from him. I remember the first time I heard a Kanye West song. It was in a music class at UCLA (yes, I first heard Kanye West at the hands of a professor at one of the most distinguished public institutions in America) and the professor said, “This is a man that is going to change the way we see music forever.”
If you haven’t listened hard to anything by West, take a moment to listen to “Jesus Walks” and tell me that it isn’t a truly revolutionary song. Every element is purposeful. What do the backing vocals sound like? Why does it have such a deep Christian message? Is it truly a Christian message? Why is the N-word shouted out like that? Why are kids singing in the background? None of it is an accident and the song is full of layers and layers and layers of allusion to Black history and the daily political implications of being Black in America.
I’ll admit that I could very well not know what I’m talking about. I’m an upper-middle class White woman who isn’t a music scholar. But I want you to listen to that one song, and then dive into the entire College Dropout album before you say that he somehow doesn’t deserve the credit he’s given as a musician and a producer.
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And Kim Kardashian is a style icon whether you like it or not. For years she’s been featured on the covers of fashion and style magazines, and there isn’t a tabloid on the stands that doesn’t have some mention of what she’s wearing. She had a high-end women’s clothing store in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Los Angeles before had a television show, and has been known for her style and fashion influence for a long time.
But somehow she and her fiancé don’t deserve the Vogue cover?
Why not?
Because they are “famous for nothing”? No, they’re famous for something. He’s famous for being one of the top-selling musicians and most well-respected producers in history, and she’s famous for being on a TV show bearing her name and for being a fashion icon with multiple clothing and beauty lines. So, yes, they’re famous for something. Whether you deem that “something” to have merit or not is what you need to really examine.
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Maybe you’re mad because they’re always seeking attention. Of course they are. Who in the entertainment industry isn’t? Sure, we have a few hermit-like celebrities in this country. Bill Murray comes to mind; he only does the press he wants to do, he doesn’t do appearances at clubs, he doesn’t even have your standard talent or press agents. But he’s also a lot older, and part of a totally different generation of actors and comedians than what we have today.
But what about everyone else who’s been on the cover of Vogue? Rihanna, she seeks out attention. She does press and media appearances. She dresses up gorgeous and sexy and does stuff to gain the media’s notice. As The Belle Jar’s Anne Thériault says, “If I hear one more person accuse her of ‘wanting attention’ and ‘being famous for nothing’ I’m going to flip a table.” She is famous for her style and is regularly photographed by paparazzi and makes appearances is fashion and celebrity magazines. Lena Dunham, also gorgeous and sexy, does press and media appearances and is famous for her fashion and style choices (albeit in a different way).
I could go on, the list is really long. In fact, Vogue covers now mostly feature celebrities instead of fashion models, and much of Vogue is dedicated to celebrity style and profiles. Less so than other style mags, but without celebrity stuff, there would be a good number fewer pages in fashion’s “Bible”.
So who does and doesn’t deserve to be in Vogue? As Larry Womack of 1450 media and former editor at both Huffington Post and RawStory.com explains, “The reaction [to the Vogue cover] shows an insane lack of perspective. The fashion industry is a haven for sexual predators, bigots and generally terrible people. Nobody throws a fit when they’re featured in Vogue. But a reality TV star? That is to be condemned.”
My final question his this: Why isn’t mainstream and social media looking at the culturally important aspects of this “Kimye” cover?
A woman of color is on the cover of Vogue. (Yes, she’s a woman of color, as her father was Armenian-American). This happens with more regularity than it has in the past, but it’s still a topic to discuss and note. Also, a Black man is on the cover, which means that this month, a multi-racial family is on the cover of the world’s foremost fashion magazine.
When a bi-racial family appeared in a Cheerios ad, the world was cheering. But not on Vogue. No, not this multi-racial family. They are not good enough for us! But why not?
As Daniel D’Addario explained in his Salon piece, the public has a very specific idea of who belongs on Vogue, and it’s often based upon a very thin, white version of beauty.
Doubters aside, Kardashian should have been on the cover of Vogue months before. The world’s Sienna Millers are the women who are “supposed” to be on Vogue, and any time that mold is broken, it should be cause for celebration. Who would you rather read about, a character actress from a movie you half-remember or a woman at the very center of the culture? Vogue generally gets representation wrong. They airbrushed Adele and Kate Winslet beyond recognition in recent memory, and the last time a black man and white woman appeared together on the cover was a (perhaps subconscious) visual nod to King Kong. To see Kardashian looking like herself, and looking happy and in love, on this cover is refreshing.
Is Kim’s fashion influence something that can be denied? Her clothing store was successful before Keeping Up With The Kardashians was on the air, and the Kardashian family used that platform to launch their many fashion and beauty brands into the stratosphere.
And isn’t that what Vogue is about? Fashion, style, and celebrity?
So tell me again why Kim Kardashian and Kanye West don’t belong on its cover?
All this outrage is still making me cackle. Vogue is too “good” for Kim but a broad who rocks meat dresses & makes “vomit art?” Totes ok.
— Fed-Up Hipster (@thewayoftheid) March 24, 2014
Joanna, You do make a good point — what does “famous for nothing” really mean? How is “Kimye” really any more obnoxious or less deserving than anyone else on the newsstand covers? I don’t think of any celebrities as being “famous for nothing,” but there are plenty that I consider “famous for being famous.” Or, they’re famous today just because they’re famous. Madonna at this point, for example. In the case of Kim Kardashian, however, I’m not sure if it’s her sense of style that makes her famous or the fact that she’s famous makes her stylish. People care about… Read more »
Just curious here. Why is the cover of Vogue magazine, whatever it is, the topic of a supposedly ‘Mens Website’? I mean, how many men actually read Vogue?
What about “how come so many articles on a supposedly ‘Mens Website’ are written by feminists?”?
@Joanna Whoa!How the heck did Brandon’s vitrolic, white suptemacist spiel, make it through moderation?!
Even taking into account the multi-racial Cheerios family vibe, I still can’t with these two.
They got what they wanted … publicity. I couldn’t care less about either of them
@Joanna here is an interesting sidebar: The claim by some women that women who are overtly sexual or have lots of sex with different men are penalized as sluts and whores is challenged by the acceptance of Kim’s sex tape. She is securely positioned as a role model for young girls and young women. We also know that sexting and sending risqué photos is a common occurrence among young women and girls.Shit, I am glad my daughter is 28 and I don’t have to explain how that works. Any thoughts?
I tried to listen to that song, I really did. I’ve never heard a Kanye song before so I thought maybe this might enlighten me. I didn’t last a minute. Maybe he did change the face of contemporary music, but in my opinion not in a good way. Music appreciation is completely subjective. My point is, and this is the larger issue, why should we care? So-called celebrities demand validation for their existence. Whether they are on the cover of a magazine or not is of no consequence to me, only to them and the people who are making money… Read more »
So Kim is a woman of color now? Reaching.
“He’s famous for being one of the top-selling musicians and most well-respected producers in history, and she’s famous for being on a TV show bearing her name and for being a fashion icon with multiple clothing and beauty lines.”
These are NOT reasons why they are famous. These are byproducts of their fame. Claiming that those explain their fame is pure tautology.
…but if Kanye was not famous before he became a producer how did simply being Kanye produce notoriety?She is far more famous among women than she is men.Women want to be her.
I’ve been waiting for someone to post an article like this. The hate and anger about this Vogue cover really surprised me. I just don’t understand it. I also have a really hard time understanding why anyone thinks that the rest of the people gracing the cover of Vogue are *so much better* than Kim and Kanye.
There is nothing, and I repeat, nothing good nor refreshing or remotely GOOD about Jesus walks. Ice-T and the Bodycount covered that well worn ground far better in their original “BodyCount” Album. Your professor at UCLA was smoking too much weed to realize that Kanye only sound new and interesting because of the hype. Referencing the plight of Black America with sarcasm and cynicism isn’t new at all… And the beats and samples are about as boring as it gets. 80’s and 90’s Hip Hop done by intelligent artists like Common, Mos Def, Talib Kwali, etc. Kanye is a producer.… Read more »
I defer to you on the music stuff.
As far as why we malign Kim Kardashian based upon her having made a sex tape, that goes back to our nation’s hypocritical purity standards. So she made a sex tape? Who cares? We want our women sexy and DTF, but we don’t want to SEE that except when WE want to, and if she’s going to be famous as something other than a sex object, then she can’t have a history of being sexual.
I was really hoping this article would take a different perspective rather than pulling the race card. I agree with the beginning portion breaking down how the angered society needs to understand why they are actually on the cover but they are not upset because this couple is multi-racial. They are upset because of what these people stand for. Kanye West is an active racist and Kim Kardashian represents the vapid upper class who lacks intellect and we all secretly dread are children emulating. Race has nothing to do with this.
I’m not saying they’re upset because they’re multi-racial. I’m saying they’re hypocritical for saying that these celebs shouldn’t be on the cover of Vogue, when they don’t care if other celebs are on the cover. Because of this outrage over something so stupid, they’re missing the GOOD things that are happening on this cover and in this spread, including a beautiful family with a loving mom, dad and baby.
I do also think Vogue tends toward the thin and white, and that’s proven by data. Whether it compounds here with everything else, I do not know.
You appear to be white yourself, is there a reason why you are going against your own people in order to argue more “people of color” to grace the cover of Vogue? I will tell you like I tell all other liberals who are ashamed of being white because you were SUPPOSEDLY a slave owner in the past and have been reincarnated into the person you are now. Also, it seems your all into the racial mixing out of the white race, if you haven’t noticed, the white race is disappearing and as it disappears you can see all of… Read more »
@Anonymous How do you know explicitly what “they” are upset about? What proof do you have, besides your opinion, that Kanye is a racist?
I’m not a huge Kim Ye fan either, but you nailed this. I will say, as an Armenian though you got that wrong. Armenians are as Caucasian as anyone else. They’re basically located in the Caucus mountains and traditionally considered Aryan.
Not that I care because being white isn’t anything to brag bout, just as being any race isn’t anything to brag about, but calling her a woman of color is not really accurate. Everything else is spot on here.
that’s interesting, Vahagn, I have Armenian friends who consider themselves and ethnic minority in the USA.
Hey Joanna. Great article by the way. And it actually changed my view of Kanye and Kim being on the cover of Vogue. As someone in an interracial relationship myself.
It’s a
Hey Joanna. Great article and this actually changed my view of Kim & Kanye being on the cover of Vogue. Also as a woman in an interracial relationship myself the fact that it is celebrated in a major publication can only be a good thing for me & my boyfriend. That being said Armenians are in fact Caucasian. Their more exotic features can be explained by Armenian being so close the Middle East so obviously some of them may have some middle eastern blood. But they are no less “white” than let’s say Southern Italians or Greeks, who also tend… Read more »
It occurs to me that we have a working definition of what “women of color” (or people of color) means. I don’t think it means you have to racially be only Black or Asian. Certainly many Latino folks feel they are people of color, though technically white as well.
I certainly am not going to define for Armenians whether they identify as people of color, or ethnic minorities, but I based my definition upon my own Armenian friends’ definition.
Not to harp on this issue too long, but you say your Armenian friends consider themselves an ethnic minority, but do they consider themselves People of Color, though? The terms are not synonymous, you know? If I ever moved to the US I would be from a minority as well, because in being WASP I fail in ASP, though not in W. Likewise my girlfriend is foreign and in my home country belongs to an ethnic minority (and one somewhat discriminated against too), but she is as white as anybody. The mistake is to believe that “white” is a monolithic… Read more »