Normalization and Commodification of the Body and Sexuality in Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner’s Instagram Posts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/96j2sa08Keywords:
sexuality, commodification, internet celebrities, transitivity, social semiotics, postmodernismAbstract
As global influencers, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are not merely in a subject-object hegemonic discourse and in a discipline of their body and sexuality, but they also monetize from commodification of their body and sexuality through Instagram posts. Fuelled by the advanced internet celebrity phenomenon and capitalism, this study aims at dismantling and seeing the extent Kim and Kylie’s photos and captions reveal the process of normalization of the body and sexuality based upon Kress and van Leeuwen’s social semiotics and Halliday’s transitivity system from the structuralist viewpoint. In dismantling the process of normalization, Foucauldian panopticism and Baudrillardian hyperreality were deployed in the study. The results revealed that during the process of normalization, Kim and Kylie were under constant surveillance and were monitored by a capitalist system, the viewers and themselves demanding their body and sexuality being exposed in a public sphere at all times—on Instagram—through applying revealing fashion style as well as other seductive attributes, poses, and gestures to the body. Each Instagram post emerged only as a simulation of a new set of unattainable standards appeared on digital media—on their Instagram posts, rather than the ‘real’ self-representation of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. Three out of four Instagram posts of Kim and Kylie showed no connection between the products being advertised on the caption and the focus elements on the image—their revealing body and sexuality. Kim and Kylie’s inner lust and sexual appeal which were emanated from their body had been commodified.
Downloads
References
1. Abidin, C. (2018). Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online. United Kingdom: Emerald Pubishing Limited.
2. Agocha, V. B., Overstreet, N. M., & Quinn, D. M. (2010). Beyond Thinness: The Influence of a Curvaceous Body Ideal on Body Dissatisfaction in Black and White Women. Sex Roles, 63(1-2), 91. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9792-4
3. Amin, A. S. (2015). Conflicts of Fitness: Islam, America, and Evolutionary Psychology. Morrisville: Lulu Publishing Services.
4. Baudrillard, J. (1983). Simulations. Trans. Paul Foss, Paul Patton, Philip Beitchman.New York, NY: Semiotext(e).
5. Baumgardner, J., & Richards, A. (2004). Feminism and femininity: Or how we learned to stop worrying and love the thong. In A. Harris (Ed.), All about the girl: Culture, power, and identity (pp. 59-67). New York, NY: Routledge.
6. Black, I.R., & Morton, P. (2017). Appealing to men and women using sexual appeals in advertising: In the battle of the sexes, is a truce possible?. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(4), 4. doi:10.1080/13527266.2015.1015108
7. Borzillo, C. (2017, August 16). 4 Subtle Body Language Signals Women Send Using Only Their Breasts. [online] YourTango. Retrieved July 27, 2019, from https://www.yourtango.com/2017305812/4-body-language-signals-women-send-their-breasts-boobs
8. Brown, Z., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women’s mood and body image. Body Image, 19, 6. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.007
9. Carey, T. (2019, May 10). PLASTIC FANTASTIC? How Kim Kardashian has spent £70k transforming her body, including £22k on her face and £31k on her bum alone, according to experts. [online] The Sun. Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/9034992/kim-kardashian-met-gala-body-transformation/
10. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Allen Lane, Penguin.
11. Foucault, M. (1995): Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York, NY: Random House Inc.
12. Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women’s Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 3-5. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x
13. Fury, A. (2016, November 25). Can a Corset Be Feminist?. [online] The New York Times Style Magazine. Retrieved July 25, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/t-magazine/fashion/corset-history-feminism.html
14. Givens, D.B. (1978). The Nonverbal Basis of Attraction: Flirtation, Courtship, and Seduction. Psychiatry, 41(4), 351. doi:10.1080/00332747.1978.11023994
15. Glucksman, M. (2017). The Rise of Social Media Influencer Marketing on Lifestyle Branding: A Case Study of Lucie Fink. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 8(2), 85. Retrieved from https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2017/12/08_Lifestyle_Branding_Glucksman.pdf
16. Grammer, K., Fink, B., & Neave, N. (2005). Human pheromones and sexual attraction.
17. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 118(2), 136. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2004.08.010
18. Hanna, J. L. (2008). Empowerment The Art of Seduction in Adult Entertainment Exotic Dance. In Frank Kouwenhoven and James Kippen (Ed.), Music, Dance and the Art of Seduction (p. 210). Leiden, the Netherlands: Chime.
19. Juntiwasarakij, S. (2018). Framing emerging behaviors influenced by internet celebrity. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 1-5. doi:10.1016/j.kjss.2018.06.014
20. Krishna, G., & Kumar, P. (2014). Fruits and Vegetables that Resembles to Body Organs and have Significant Role on them. American Journal of Phytomedicine and Clinical Therapeutics, 2(3), 7. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314363621_Fruits_and_Vegetables_that_Resembles_to_Body
_Organs_and_have_Significant_Role_on_them
21. Liss, M., Erchull, M. J., & Ramsey, L. R. (2010). Empowering or Oppressing? Development and Exploration of the Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(1),
65. doi:10.1177/0146167210386119
22. Marx, Karl. The Marx-Engels Reader. 2nd ed. Robert C. Tucker, ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1978.
23. Milner, M. (2010). Is Celebrity a New Kind of Status System?. Society, 47(5), 383–387. doi:10.1007/s12115-010-9347-x
24. Na, M. (2017). Wearing Effectiveness of Bodysuit Pattern on Golden Body Proportion. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 9, 67. Retrieved from http://jardcs.org/backissues/abstract.php?archiveid=913&action=fulltext&uri=/backissues/archives-special.php?year=2017&issue=09-Special%20Issue&page=1
25. Pearce, F. (2008). Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff. Massachusetts: Beacon Press.
26. Pitts, V. (2003). In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
27. Poorani, A. (2012). Who determines the ideal body? A Summary of Research Findings on Body Image. New Media and Mass Communication, 2, 10. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.880.1092&rep=rep1&type=pdf
28. Reeves, B., & Nass, C. (1996). The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places. California, CA: Center for the Study of Language and Information.
29. Robehmed, N. (2018, July 11). Why Kim Kardashian West Is Worth $350 Million. [online] Forbes. Retrieved January 6, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2018/07/11/why-kim-kardashian-west-is-worth-350-million/#e1645594f7b6
30. Robehmed, N. (2018, July 13). How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than
3 Years. [online] Forbes. Retrieved January 7, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/07/11/how-20-year-old-kylie-jenner-built-a-900-million-fortune-in-less-than-3-years/#6bc7298caa62
31. Rowse, D. (2012). Posing Guide: 21 Sample Poses to Get You Started with Glamour Photography. [online] Digital Photography School. Retrieved July 25, 2019, from https://digital-photography-school.com/posing-guide-21-sample-poses-to-get-you-started-with-glamour-photography/
32. Rudman, W. J., & Hagiwara, A. F. (1992). Sexual exploitation in advertising health and wellness products. Women & Health, 18(4), 77-89. doi:10.1300/J013v18n04_05
33. Ryan, C. (2012). The Subjectified and Resisting Corporeal Body: A Theoretical Framework for Examining Subjugation and Resistance. Ireland: University of Limerick.
34. Sameer, I. (2018). Study on Sex Appeal in Advertising: Does it Effect Consumer Purchase Decisions?. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323111451_Study_on_Sex_Appeal_in_Advertising_Does_it_ Effect_Consumer_Purchase_Decisions
35. Sarkar, S. (2014). Media and women image: A Feminist discourse. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 6(3), 48-55. doi: 10.5897/JMCS2014.0384
36. Shiffer, E. (2019, January 31). Kylie Jenner’s Workout Routine: All The Details You Need. [online] Women’sHealth. Retrieved July 22, 2019, from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a26067026/kylie-jenner-workout/
37. Sorokowski, P., & Pawłowski, B. (2008). Adaptive preferences for leg length in a potential partner. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29(2), 86. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.09.002
38. Souza, N. (2016). Luxury Fashion and Social Media: Brand’s Usage of Instagram to Reach an Audience. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.1379.6245
39. Stephenson, P. (2015). Foundations of Posing: A Comprehensive Guide for Wedding and Portrait Photographers. New York: Amherst Media.
40. Thomson, S., Kluftinger, E., & Wentland, J. (2018). Are you fluent in sexual emoji?: Exploring the use of emoji in romantic and sexual contexts. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 27(3), 3. doi: 10.3138/cjhs.2018-0020
41. Ward, L. M., Seabrook, R. C., Grower, P., Giaccardi, S., & Lippman, J. R. (2017). Sexual Object or Sexual Subject? Media Use, Self-Sexualization, and Sexual Agency Among Undergraduate Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(1), 3. doi:10.1177/0361684317737940
42. Wolfe, M. J. (2017). Materialising effects of difference in sex education: the ‘absurd’ banana penis. Gender and Education, 30(8), 5. doi:10.1080/09540253.2018.1451625
43. Zorthian, J. (2017, August 10). Kylie Jenner's Cosmetics Brand Is on Track to Become a $1 Billion Company. [online] Fortune. Retrieved January 7, 2019, from http://fortune.com/2017/08/10/kylie-jenner-kylie-cosmetics-worth/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
