On Monday, Kim Kardashian posted a sexy nude selfie to Instagram with the caption, “When you’re like I have nothing to wear LOL.” Since no one doubts the abundance of Kim’s wardrobe, this translates to something more like, “When you’re just feeling fine as hell and want to show the world.” Honestly, why does she even need a reason to post a hot selfie? Why should we have to justify sharing the moments when we’re celebrating our bodies?
Of course, it wasn’t long before the slut-shaming reared its ugly head. “I truly hope you realize how important setting goals are for young women, teaching them we have so much more to offer than just our bodies,” 19-year-old actress Chloe Grace Moretz tweeted to Kim. “let’s all welcome @ChloeGMoretz to twitter, since no one knows who she is. your nylon cover is cute boo,” Kim responded, referring to Moretz’s own nude magazine cover.
Kim tweeted a second selfie with the hashtag “#liberated”
Yes, Chloe, of course we have so much more to offer than just our bodies. But why should that make it wrong to celebrate these bodies — especially when we’re so often told not to? Kim responded to the selfie backlash with a proud, manifesto-like essay for International Women’s Day. “I am empowered by my body,” she asserts. “I am empowered by my sexuality. I am empowered by feeling comfortable in my skin. I am empowered by showing the world my flaws and not being afraid of what anyone is going to say about me. And I hope that through this platform I have been given, I can encourage the same empowerment for girls and women all over the world.”
The best part of her essay, which she published on her app, is her refusal to be pigeonholed. She claims her right to be sexy across all her various roles in life: “I am a mother. I am a wife, a sister, a daughter, an entrepreneur and I am allowed to be sexy.” Hell yes. We already knew Kim identified as a feminist; now she’s got the manifesto to back it up. Which is a pretty badass response to some pretty shameful slut-shaming.
Images via Facebook and Twitter
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