Kardashians Are Bad For Feminism

Gloria Steinem doesn’t like the way television is headed.

The feminist icon was spruiking her new doco recently when she made a comment that will probably anger Kardashian faithfuls the world over.

In not so many words, Steinem alluded to the fact that if Kim, Khloe and Kourtney were the new feminists, we’re all in a great deal of trouble.

“They’re not empowering other women,” she said.

But, in true Steinem style, the comment wasn’t made with malicious intent.

“There’s no point in blaming the people who take advantage of the system without changing the system. Imagine if this were a family of boys. If men were rewarded for the same things, they would be doing it too.”

As well as making her disapproval of the Kardashians clear, Steinem also urged listeners to boycott the new ‘60s style program The Playboy Club.

Unfortunately though, as Salon pointed out, telling someone not to watch or do something only fuels their curiosity and desire to know what all the fuss is about.

However Steinem’s overarching argument is something we should all consider, and most of us probably have at some stage. For the direction television has been taking for some time now, isn’t one feminists would necessarily have chosen. Mad Men, The Playboy Club, Wife Swap, True Blood, Extreme Makeover and a dishearteningly long list of others, are similar in their negative portrayal of women.

It’s interesting though that it’s taken a women in her seventies, who has surely done enough for feminism, to bring the media’s attention to how gross these issues are. I can’t help but wonder if she’s asking herself where the women are that she can pass the torch to? And who’ll raise theses issues when she’s gone?

Contact the author here: brianna@morningquickie.com