Kendall and Kylie Setting a Different Example of Family

In America, family is the number one priority for many people and comes first before everything. Most families have two parents and several children. Some families have two parents, and several children from different fathers. For most families there are traditions and big events such as kids sharing a middle name, fourth of July cookout, and wedding props. There is a family in America who have the tradition of naming their daughters with a name beginning with “K”, fashion competitions, and since the daughters have one mother but different fathers, the second father is now a woman, and the two daughters from the second father, Kendall and Kylie, have been influencing young girls and women to look sexy and mature despite how young, your sister is your friend and also someone you have to beat out, boyfriends come first, and dominance along with money is everything.

            The Kardashian family is the biggest trend in America. Current events have happened such as Kylie Jenner getting plastic surgery at age eighteen, Bruce Jenner becoming Caitlyn Jenner at age sixty five, Khloe Kardashian weight loss, Kourtney Kardashian divorce, Kim Kardashian having two kids and marrying Kanye West, Kendall Jenner dating Harry Stiles, Kylie Jenner dating Tyga, Kris Jenner divorcing Bruce over becoming a woman, and Caitlyn Jenner having her own television show as well as winning the ESPY award for 2015.  Kendall and Kylie, being the youngest of all the siblings, were always seen as a pair in Hollywood and had modeled and worked together many times. In 2015, Kendall and Kylie were seen as doing their own modeling and were featured individually in magazine covers. Kendall and Kylie are known by all of America for their family background and work. However, Kendall and Kylie live their lives as siblings unlike any other pair of siblings.

            Kendall and Kylie’s mother, Kris Jenner has three daughters and a son from her first marriage with Rob Kardashian who died in 2003. Kris divorced Rob after he agreed to defend O.J. Simpson for murdering his wife, Nicole Simpson. Kris married Bruce Jenner who is now Caitlyn Jenner. Kris and Caitlyn had Kendall and Kylie. Kendall and Kylie have siblings who are in their thirties and are living on their own, have marriage problems, children, and therefore are able to do adult things with no problem yet set the example to their younger siblings to be mature. Kylie Jenner is the youngest of all the siblings and she seems to try and beat out Kendall when it comes to growing up and maturing. Kylie has had plastic surgery at age eighteen, and has been pushing herself to look like she is thirty when she is only eighteen. Fans are not impressed by her outrageous effort to looking older. She has had lip fillers and face lifts. Many fans on Mirror.Com have said that she should act her age and let the growing come naturally. Kylie has admitted that she deals with anxiety over her choice and how fans have reacted due to their criticism of her getting plastic surgery far too young.

            Siblings who are younger tend to have the desire to learn from older figures of the same gender. Most of the Kardashian women have had work done on their face. My concern is that this family is teaching young women and girls to beat others out in terms of beauty even if it means money, too young of an age, and that family means competiton and work. The Journal of Experimental Child Psychology says that “there is evidence that both same-gendered preference and stereotypes guide childrens ‘ learning in novel domains.” (Boseovski, 2016, P. 163).  The Current study also said that, “we examined whether childrens’ expectations about gender normative knowledge would interfere with their acceptance of information from an informant described as an expert in a potentially unexpected domain.” (Boseovski, 2016, P. 163, 164). Kendall and Kylie have learned how to obtain a style and personality through their sisters and their mother. Because these girls are highly mature for their age, they set the example to young girls and women that in order to be beautiful, there are some things that need to be tweaked. Kendall and Kylie have set the example to young girls to look older, to not enhance natural looks, and to spend in order to have the things needed to look pretty.

            Family usually means love and acceptance no matter what happens. This family has a severe high focus on self-image and attention rates. The bigger picture is that these siblings represent an example of how no other siblings live. These girls have few things in common with regular people such as the youngest may be more ambitious about growing up such as Kylie with plastic surgery and suggestive attire, and they follow the same interests such as modeling and fashion. However, some things these girls have that nobody has in common is how their father became a woman, they are paid, they are followed by Papparazzi due to their familie’s fame, they are millionaires at such a young age, they have their personal issues publicized for them rather than them posting on social media, they produce their own brands, and their mother does not say no very often since they make so much money. Radar Online has published an article stating that Kylie skipped a birthday celebration for Kendall due to an issue over wardrobe possession. James Vituscka has stated in his article by a close family friend, “ It’s sad. They used to be so close and now they are letting this fame thing affect them!” (RadarOnline, Vituscka, 2014) The girls have not shown America how to be happy for a family member even if it means one has more than the other. It is reported that Kylie Jenner is pursuing a music career. She is taking voice lessons and is certain that will boost her career. No family should have the focus on who is better than who. When I read about the Kardasians, the first question that comes to mind is, where is the love?

            Referring back to my thesis, Kendall and Kylie have influenced young girls and women to look and act maturely. However, a dramatic transition happened in the Kardashian family over the summer, and these girls taught America how to be supportive and understanding of their father, Bruce (now Caitlyn) becoming a woman. It was very emotional for the family and all of the kids to hear the news. Kendall Jenner, stated in etonline that she “always knew her dad was transgender since she was a kid.”(ET, 2015, Bueno). Kendall Jenner is dubbed as the ‘normal one’ out of all the Kardashian sisters, and she sees her dad as the same person though it is an adjustment but nothing she can’t get used to. It was hard when Caitlyn existed and Bruce no longer did, but she is still allowed to call Caitlyn ‘dad’, and even though her dad is different physically, she knows that Caitlyn is still her dad.

            Kendall and Kylie do not live normal lives, and were born into the celebrity world. These girls may not always set the best examples for young girls, but they are becoming their own people and they own their reputations as television celebrities.

Works Cited

Boseovski, Janet J., Chelsea Hughes, and Stephanie E. Miller. "Expertise in Unexpected Places; Children's Acceptance of Information From Gender Counter-Stereotypical Experts." Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (2016): n. pag. Elsevier. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://ac.els-cdn.com/>.

Bueno, Antionette. "Kendall Jenner Says that She Knew That Caitlyn Was a Transgender Woman Since She 'Was a Kid.'" ET Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://www.etonline.com/news/172439_kendall_jenner_says_she_knew_about_caitlyn_transgender_status_since_she_was_a_kid/>.

Strang, Fay. "Kylie Jenner Mocked for Looking More Than 30-Years Old by Fans After 'Extreme Surgery.'" Mirror. N.p., 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kylie-jenner-mocked-looking-more-6445424>.

Vituscka, James. "Feuding Over Fame: Kylie Jenner Skips Kendall's Birthday Lunch as Sisters Continue to Fight Over Spotlight." Radar Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/11/kylie-jenner-kendall-jenner-khloe-kardashian-keeping-up-with-the-kardashia>.