On Thursday, Kylie Jenner’s new shirt, called the Cheeks Tee, made its way onto an Instagram post. Kylie first posted a Polaroid picture of herself in a bra and jeans, pulling them halfway down her butt. Now the image has been plastered on a t-shirt that she is selling, hence the name of the shirt. People in the comments were less than happy with this picture, comparing her to her sister Kim Kardashian, who was involved in a sex tape scandal back in 2007.
Others were confused as to why she would put her butt on a shirt and what the point was. This isn’t the first time she has come under fire for posting a picture. She uploaded a picture of herself smoking on her Instagram page, and people were upset that she was trying to make smoking look cool.
Who is Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner is the younger sister to Kim Kardashian West. She is 19-years old, and has a large following, with almost 88 million followers on Instagram and almost 20 million on Twitter. She has a clothing brand in addition to her modeling work and works on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” a reality show about her extended family, since 2007.
She also has two nail polishes with OPI brand, a jewelry line, hair extension line, lip kit, and game. She was listed as one of the most influential teens in Time magazine in 2014 and 2015.
Appropriation
Many people see Kylie as problematic. She has appropriated African culture many times but had the most media coverage when she posted a picture of herself with cornrows, a traditional African hairstyle. People called her out for this appropriation, but Kylie responded to Amandla Stenberg, a famous actor a year younger then Jenner herself.
Stenberg commented by telling Kylie that its appropriation when a person uses another’s culture without giving credit to that culture and decide not to focus on the problems someone with the culture goes through.
Kylie was less than happy, dismissing Amandla and telling her that people are mad if she does and are mad if she doesn’t, and then told her to go hang with Jaden Smith. In news outlets, Amandla was painted as a villain and a bully, and that Kylie was painted as a kid who was going to make mistakes.
Kylie has appropriated black culture constantly with her lips, her dance moves, her hair; anything that could be taken is taken. Why is Kylie treated as an ‘icon’ for doing things and having certain things that black women/men have had their entire lives?
Kylie Jenner’s new shirts are available for a limited amount of time.