Did the Kardashians just kill gatekeeping?
They’re spilling on their surgery and giving fans exactly what they want… transparency
A cultural shift is upon us. And it’s all because someone asked Kylie Jenner for the details of her boob job.
Following years of criticism that the Kar-Jenner family have caused untold damage by being less than honest about their constantly evolving appearances, they’re finally dropping details on some of their interventions. And in the process they're reclaiming their status as social media trailblazers, bolstering Kylie’s brand and demonstrating how effective the no-secrets playbook is.
The unlikely catalyst was a TikTok post by lifestyle creator Rachel Leary, who yesterday made a video which begged 27-year-old Jenner to share what surgery she had to achieve the “most perfect, natural looking boob job ever”.
“What it is that you asked for when you had your boobs done?,” Leary asked, captioning her video “shooting my shot”.
To Leary’s, and everyone else’s surprise, Jenner replied with exact details of the size and method of her surgery, even revealing the name of her doctor.
Jenner’s candour follows her mom, Kris, sharing the name of her facial surgeon after she debuted a distinctly refreshed look last month.
While Kris’ confession that she’d gone under the knife was less of a surprise than Kylie’s comment, it flew in the face of the silence and denials from many other celebrities who’ve stepped out looking conspicuously altered.
As I mentioned in the last post Lindsay Lohan, Christina Aguilera, Demi Moore and Anne Hathaway have sparked entire news cycles about what they’ve possibly, maybe, done to their faces. Because absolutely no one believes that their transformations are natural it was always on the cards that the Kar-Jenner’s better-late-than-never honesty would go down well. In Kylie’s case, the post which asked for her surgery details is packed with comments singing her praises...
The positive response will likely influence other high profile figures to ditch their gatekeeping. If they do follow suit then it could significantly change how many regular folk understand ageing, dieting and body shapes, countering decades of messaging that’s warped perceptions about what is natural and what is the result of procedures.
The transparency strategy adopted by the Kardashians is also a shot in the arm for their reputation as social media pioneers. Regular readers may remember I made the case that the family were no longer relevant back in February after the latest series of their scripted reality show The Kardashians launched to the sound of crickets.
One of my criticisms was that they’d abandoned the oversharing that helped to make their name and were being outdone by a new breed of perma-posting stars like Alix Earle. I’ll happily take my lumps that I was premature in writing them off as long as they carry on spilling tea.
For Kylie her truth bomb follows other savvy moves that have helped to shore up her reputation and show her cheeky sense of humour. First she lit up the internet when she reposted a clip of Samantha from Sex and the City saying, “I don't get laid unless the Knicks win” ahead of accompanying her boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet, to a high stakes game featuring his beloved team. Then she posted a packed suitcase picture that revealed she had lingerie in the Knicks colours.
Both were loved by fans and they had the added benefit of putting her slap bang in the middle of NBA discourse too.
Above all else they showed that she’s happy to take her followers along with her for the ride. The confessional comment is an extension of that, and when so much of online life feels like one big grift, leading with transparency is not only refreshing, it’s a shortcut to trust.
Even if killing off the Kardashians’ previous inclinations to gatekeep is a cynical ploy to deepen their relationship with followers, I’m not sure it’s a bad thing. If audiences are given the truth they can draw their own conclusions. Now can someone share the strategy with the rest of the family, and maybe the Hadids too?
highly flammable is produced and written by me, Rachel Richardson
I’m a content creator, commentator and consultant at Beginning, Middle and End
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Email rr@bmend.com
I saw this on socials yesterday and I remembered reading your post back in February. This is the first time I’d started watching their series and didn’t even finish it. Their relevance may have expired same with Khloe’s podcast, but I actually really like Kylie and it’s an interesting turn what her and Kris have done!
Why does anybody give a single solitary f*ck about these people?