KKW, post-KUWTK, by Madeleine Holth

Kim Kardashian West, the near-mythical creature and dictator of aesthetics has reached monolithic levels throughout her years in the public eye. With the end of ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ glimmering in the horizon, Novembre dissects and examines the cult-phenomenon that is KKW and what her future holds post-KUWTK.

Visuals Max Siedentopf

Monroe, Dietrich, Hepburn and Bardot, these are just a few of the countless women throughout history that are so pivotal and important when discussing popular culture that their names spark almost a godly presence as the syllables roll off the tongue. During a 2013 blast targeted towards Vanity Fair’s decision to name Kate Upton the Marilyn Monroe of our time, KKW’s husband, Kanye West spoke violently to the Chicago 105.1 radio station, claiming that the Marilyn Monroe of our time is not Upton, but his wife Kim Kardashian West.

Without mentioning or going too deep into details surrounding redundant elements of Kim Kardashian West’s career in the spotlight (i.e her short marriage with Kris Humphries, her sex tape with Ray J or her early career as an assistant to Paris Hilton), West’s description of Kim Kardashian West as the modern-day Marilyn Monroe does add up in a sense, which should be further explored.

Monroe was the face, body and aesthetics of the times between 1945-1962 and following in her footsteps, Kim Kardashian West has proven time and time again that she is the face, body and aesthetics of 2007 and beyond.

Kim Kardashian West is undoubtedly one of the most iconic figures in modern day time in terms of tv, fashion, social media and beauty, but what does it mean when a world-renowned derriere retires and the driving force of the blueprint is abolished?

To analyse KKW’s claim to fame, one cannot ignore her physique, her larger-than-life curves and slim waistline first catapulted onto the tv screens across the world on October 14, 2007. In 2007 the remnants of the 90s heroin-chic aesthetic were still wearing off as breast augmentations procedures skyrocketed in the late 90s and early 00s. KKW’s original claim to fame is partly thanks to Paris Hilton, but it was predominantly her figure that set her apart from anything Gen X, Y and Z had ever seen before both in media and in fashion.

When discussing the body of KKW, it is important that shed light on the physical influence of augmentation she has had and the impact of those that came before her. Pamela Anderson had breasts, Dietrich had brows and Monroe had the curves. When a woman becomes an icon, her value becomes what’s current. Enormous synthetic breasts, stick-thin eyebrows and a bold hourglass figure have all been the desired aesthetic at one point in time, proving that trends (even if physical) work as a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to the other. Just like KKW brought curves to the forefront she will be the one that goes down with it when the pendulum eventually swings the other direction looking for a contrast to the status quo.

Through extreme voyeurism and Freudian-based theories of scopophilia, the love of looking is crucial when discussing the rise and potential fall of KKW.

Throughout the years she has reached incredible heights due to her avid use of social media and frequent use of selfies as a means for the promotion of the self. However, the overexposure of her face, her body and her femininity has numbed over time. For 13 years the world has seen her face, traced her figure and copied her looks, seasons will pass and so will the intensity of the KKW blueprint.

One can’t discuss the blueprint of KKW without looking at the male gaze, which in this case dehumanises and sexualises the effects KKW catapults to the social stage. Even though the male gaze theory often revolves around cinema, you can project it onto KKW’s life and career. The three crucial elements of masculine heterosexuality in movies lie in the man that is watching, the man that is directing and the man represented in the film. Connecting the dots between classic theories like this and the Kardashian world is not difficult, the men watching her, Kanye West being her counterpart and Kris Jenner being the orchestrator/director of the phenomenon that is Kim Kardashian with a capital K.

Similar ideas to underline the way people gaze at Kim Kardashian West can be found in John Berger’s ‘Ways of Seeing’ which further explains that “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at”. But even with the unbearing weight of misogyny, the female gaze cannot be excluded from this essay. Rather than taking control, the female gaze still runs through the eyes of the man as they would view the image and themselves from the standpoint of a man. KKW has not stopped producing content or stopped posting images that through the eyes of a raging feminist comes across as objectifying, she has succumbed to the idea of her being an exhibitionist and has successfully played her cards in her favour. Kim Kardashian West is taking advantage of the male gaze and women are following in the footstep of the men too.

Moreover, it is also important to recognise and normalise women looking at women with admiration without it being through the eyes of the man. Feminists looking at feminists. From the late second wave of the feminist movement going into the third wave of feminism, women brought pornography and sex wars to the forefront and even if social mirroring of KKW has perhaps reached its maximum level, her influence when it comes to normalising feminine admiration by same-sex speculators is unparalleled in today's time.

“You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure,” said Berger in his book, Ways of Seeing and it is here people forget who constructed Kim Kardashian West’s blueprint.

The audience painted Kim Kardashian and as she grew bigger and her popularity rose the hatred and resentment grew with it. Condemning KKW is condemning yourself, she is you and you are her, a product of the Zeitgeist.

Kim Kardashian West’s claim to fame will fizzle out in time, like any heroine that came before her, her physique, her looks and her style will become redundant as time dictates style change, which results in elements becoming out of style. Liking Kim Kardashian West has transcended from being passé and KKW is now standing at the edge of the cliff ready to take flight into a new era where the backbone of her fame is abolished and her world-famous figure will eventually no longer be the desired aesthetic. Will endorsement deals cut it for the Armenian-American social phenomenon? It will, but Kim cannot stay on top forever, the crown is not hers to bear - at least anymore.

TRIBUTE pays homage to possibly the biggest icon of the 21st century. Easily comparable to famous icons from the past such as Marilyn Monroe or the Mona Lisa, no one else has had more influence on contemporary visual culture such as Kim Kardashian. Described by The New York Times as “the queen of selfies”, Kim Kardashian has shaped and reinvented over the past decade what self-portraiture is today. Her images are omni-present, her selfies have influenced an entire generation and have become an integral part of today’s pop culture.

As the ultimate homage to this 21st century icon, I have decided to pay the biggest tribute I physically could. Over several weeks I have dug a tunnel which spans over many meters into the earth. It’s almost impossible to find the end of it, seemingly going all the way to the center of the earth. The inside of the tunnel is built as a hall of fame, plastered with some of Kardashian’s most iconic portraits, forever celebrating her image.

Max Siedentopf, 2021