They say that living well is the best revenge, and Khloé Kardashian's new show Revenge Body has sparked a discussion about the pressure women feel to tie their wellbeing to their appearances.
Trainer Lacey Stone, who is involved with the show, has taken issue with the criticisms, explaining to Fox News that "There's someone in every one of these people's lives who told them they're not enough. That's what this show is about."
More Trailers Videos
- Video duration
- 00:59
Trailer: Revenge Body With Khloe ...
Trailer: Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian
Participants get the opportunity to reinvent themselves from the inside out with the help of Kardashian and top fitness and nutrition experts.
Up Next
Trailer: Keeping up with the Kardashians Season 12
- Video duration
- 00:29
- Video duration
- 00:29
Trailer: Keeping up with the Kardashians ...
Trailer: Keeping up with the Kardashians Season 12
A peek inside the exploits and privileged private lives of the blended Kardashian-Jenner family, including sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé.
Up Next
Trailer: The Wizard of Lies
- Video duration
- 00:51
- Video duration
- 00:51
Trailer: The Wizard of Lies
Trailer: The Wizard of Lies
The story of Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme.
Up Next
Trailer: Split
- Video duration
- 02:30
- Video duration
- 02:30
Trailer: Split
Trailer: Split
After three girls are kidnapped by a man with 24 distinct personalities they must find some of the different personalities that can help them while running away and staying alive from the others.
Up Next
xXx: Return of Xander Cage
- Video duration
- 01:02
- Video duration
- 01:02
xXx: Return of Xander Cage
xXx: Return of Xander Cage
Ruby Rose as Adele Wolff is a kick-arse action hero in the stunt-filled third outing for the xXx franchise.
Up Next
Trailer: Ballerina
- Video duration
- 01:46
- Video duration
- 01:46
Trailer: Ballerina
Trailer: Ballerina
An orphan girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.
Up Next
Trailers: Girls Season 6
- Video duration
- 01:41
- Video duration
- 01:41
Trailers: Girls Season 6
Trailers: Girls Season 6
A comedy about the experiences of a group of girls in their early 20s.
Up Next
Trailer: When We Rise
- Video duration
- 02:09
- Video duration
- 02:09
Trailer: When We Rise
Trailer: When We Rise
A chronicled re-telling the gay rights movement in the United States, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.
Trailer: Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian
Participants get the opportunity to reinvent themselves from the inside out with the help of Kardashian and top fitness and nutrition experts.
I've been told I'm not good enough before, although not in so many words. I'm sure many people have. I'm sure that Kardashian, being a woman in the spotlight, has too, and that combined with her weight loss is probably what inspired her to encourage others to follow the same path: if losing weight helped her feel more confident, and more able to stick it to the haters, surely it could help others too?
I don't expect radical body politics from a Kardashian. I suppose I did expect better from a Kardashian who has struggled with her weight publicly for years, and who just last year released a denim collection that includes all sizes between 0 and 24.
Related Content
Unfortunately, Revenge Body is a stark reminder of which bodies are deemed acceptable, even in the pseudo self-loving rhetoric of the Kardashians. Curvy, but in the right places. Tall, but with long legs. A good butt. Larger than average breasts. Attaining a body like this is how you'll get revenge on your critics – just ask Khloé.
Living well doesn't need to equal losing weight and somehow acquiring the right curves. Living well can mean spending more time by the pool, or more time reading books you love, or more time eating avocado on toast, or more time meditating, or more time with your best friends. Living well is indeed an effective way of conveying just how little an impact your detractors' words had on you, but living well doesn't need to equal 'looking hot'.
The show is essentially The Biggest Loser for die-hard Kardashian fans. The show's participants are shown freaking out before meeting Khloé, and their heart-to-hearts with her are a core component of their participation in the show. The first show's participants, Stephanie and Will, work out seven days a week, twice a day, for twelve weeks. which is obviously a very realistic schedule for the average person to follow.
In one scene, Stephanie describes herself as the 'DUFF' of her friend group. ('DUFF' meaning 'Designated Ugly Fat Friend'.) Kardashian herself responds with "That's really f----d up." Stephanie doesn't seem to consider these friends particularly valuable, but still wants to get revenge on them by losing weight (I still don't understand the logic behind this concept, or, frankly, the show overall).
Before Stephanie's reveal, she gets a makeover courtesy of celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin and others in the Kardashian's entourage, and when she receives a video and box of goodies from Kylie Jenner herself she promptly bursts into tears. Finally, the reveal takes place at a rooftop party, where Stephanie rocks a bikini while confronting her ex-best friend. (Who is literally labelled as such in her introduction, so again, I have to ask: why interact with her at all?)
Frankly, changing her body is not the most effective solution Stephanie could have sought in order to deal with her mean-girl friends. Removing these friends from her life, and finding some who don't encourage her to find all her self-worth from her appearance would be a much better solution to Stephanie's problems.
But then again, I'm not a therapist. Neither are Khloé or the personal trainers she's hired to help the show's participants. I'm just a fat girl who learned the long and hard way not to let others dictate how I feel about myself, and who is still trying to unlearn the idea forced on women everywhere that their worth and value to the world comes directly from their appearance and how much it conforms to the status quo.
The other participant in the first episode is a guy, Will, who wants to get his boyfriend Kyle back, after Kyle broke up with him because he was no longer attracted to Will. I'm not sure how getting back with a shallow ex counts as getting revenge on them, but I'm not the one trying to shoehorn a backstory into a reality show formula. The episode ends with Will throwing a cocktail party (unlike Stephanie, he is allowed to attend fully clothed), which Khloé invites Kyle to in the form of a voicemail, hoping Kyle will walk in and notice his new body and be attracted to him once more. Kyle doesn't show up, and instead the most shocking moment is when Will's mum walks in, which is exciting if you love your mum, I guess.
But what was the plan here, exactly? Make Kyle realise what he's missing out on? Get back together with someone who's told you they're no longer attracted to you because of some weight gain? What happens when you (basically inevitably, as has been the experience of many contestants on similar shows) gain weight in the future?
Resisting the idea that you're only deserving of love and companionship once you look a certain way can be hard; I've been fighting that internalised notion for years now.
What helps me is remembering that anyone who would only love you or consider you worthy of their time once you look a certain way is not someone worth spending time with. I'd rather remain single than devote my life to changing how I look in order to meet the standards imposed by a sexist society, but that's me. I realise not everyone is as comfortable remaining single, and that's okay too.
But try to remember that being in a relationship with someone who loves you solely for how you look probably won't be the key to living well, finding happiness, or getting revenge.
0 comments
New User? Sign up