Dubai Diaries: Learn to like what you see in the mirror

Dubai - What Khloe Kardashian's Insta post teaches us

by

Ambica Sachin

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Published: Mon 12 Apr 2021, 12:05 PM

For those with a penchant to view the world through a black and white lens, the saying, if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem, holds good on many counts.

If you throw a dime or a dirham as the case may be in this part of the region, getting detractors disguised as ‘well-wishers’ to point out all that is wrong or could go wrong in the foreseeable future is as easy as finding an army of cockroaches in your house when the building is undergoing pest control. The gold is reserved for those who can plug the hole or come up with a workable solution to any given issue you are facing.


That’s why reality star Khloe Kardashian’s long-winded defense of why she felt the need to delete an unflattering pose by the poolside posted on social media without permission by an assistant, didn’t cut it with me. For crying out loud, here’s a woman who is part of a million dollar family business that markets everything from the exact shade of their surgically enhanced pouting lips, to a whole level unrealistic portrayal of the perfect female body.

Are celebrities akin to normal human beings when it comes to emotions and feelings? Of course, they are. Are they held to a different level of standards than mere mortals? Yes, because they chose to be in an industry that sets such premium on looking good ALL THE TIME. Should people who rake in their livelihood out of selling highly curated images of themselves to vulnerable young minds be held accountable for their actions? Yes.


Khloe spoke about the “constant ridicule and judgment” her entire life and the demand “to be perfect and to meet other’s standards of how I should look.” And so she decided to give in to the pressure and by deleting that one ‘uncensored’ snap ensured we’d always picture her as the luscious, perfect bodied, sister of the latest billionaire in town, Kim Kardashian.

Instead of harnessing the power at her disposal as a celebrity with over 136 million followers on Insta alone, to tackle body image issues faced by vulnerable young women across the world. It’s hard enough opening up about your vulnerabilities in front of an often unforgiving public, but by bowing down to the same public gaze, you are feeding an insatiable beast — a virtual world where everything is airbrushed and lit and oh-so-perfect.

It’s unfortunate that for many others, this option to delete their self-image doesn’t exist and they have to put up with the unflattering light and fat and acne and all the so-called flaws many of us are prone to. The perfect shot or the perfect lighting doesn’t have to define us.

If only Khloe had used the opportunity to show her real self ‘unfiltered’ to the world, there could be more self-confident women out there today. At the end of the day it is not the gaze of the millions out there that should concern us, but the reflection that greets us in the mirror every morning.


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