Sticking Up for Kim Kardashian and Other Weirdness

Before I say anything else, I have to tell you: I don't know why Kim Kardashian is famous. I've never watched anything she's been in, and I don't know anything about her except that she was married to a guy for, like, seven minutes before filing for divorce, and that she's really pretty (because -- she's REALLY pretty) and that now she's carrying the child of Kanye "I'mmma let you finish" West.

Other than that? She's just another carbon based life form on a planet covered in carbon based life forms.

And that is why I'm sticking up for her.

I was at the grocery store the other night and, while waiting in line to check out, scanned the magazine covers. Five out of the six I looked at ripped Kim Kardashian apart for being fat, suggested she was disgusting, suggested that her fella was going to leave her because she was gross, suggested that she had lost control of herself and was either dancing with sloppy, gluttonous joy OR throwing herself into a pit of grease and french fry filled loathing.

Now. As I mentioned before, I don't know why she is famous, and maybe the price of fame is to have your photo splashed everywhere on a day when you might not be wearing your most flattering outfit. I'm not famous so I don't know.

But I do know the following:

1) Fat shaming a pregnant person is not only ridiculous, it is also downright mean.

2) Being fat does not equal being gross, or out of control, or disgusting.

3) Being fat does not HAVE to equal being filled with self loathing... but it can be hard to love yourself and your body if people are constantly telling you that you're worthless.

4) Being fat should not mean that everyone who views you has the right to judge you, or make comments, or be unkind.

When we as a society begin thinking it's appropriate to judge, shame, and mock a pregnant woman for gaining weight, we need to reassess our priorities and reconsider our standards of beauty. When it's more important to be thin and pregnant than healthy and pregnant, we have a serious problem. When I see headlines that compare Kate Middleton's weight to Kim Kardashian's, headlines that say "You can hardly even tell Kate's pregnant but Kim's a WHALE" without taking into account differences in height, differences in body type, and the fact that Kate Middleton was hospitalized for a condition that causes her to vomit uncontrollably on a daily basis, it makes me so mad I might spew myself.

This is not okay. I don't care why she's famous, and I don't care if she's the most shameless self promoter in the history of famousness (is she? I really don't know). THIS. IS. NOT. OKAY.

Not even a little.

So. I don't know Kim Kardashian. I don't know anything about her. But I do know this: I hope she's feeling good in her body. I hope she feels healthy. I hope her baby is growing strong and well.

And I hope that, despite all of the bullshit headlines about her, she feels beautiful. All  women should, at whatever size they find themselves, but ESPECIALLY when they're pregnant.