Abject objectification

Kendall Jenner has a pretty face. So why does she want her pelvis to get all the attention?

I know it’s a woman’s perogative to change her mind, but the cognitive dissonance sometimes is deafening. We are told that women do no want to be treated like objects, and yet how do they repeatedly seek attention? By showing just how much clothing they can get away with not wearing. We are told they want to be respected for their minds, and yet we are given a never-ending parade of women known only for…what, exactly? Being famous? Being naked? “Accidentally’ leaking sex tapes?

It’s a basic law of marketing. You don’t sell steak by showing us how clever the cow it came from was. You show us how good that steak looks. You sell the sizzle. You make us smell the steak. Alternately, you’ll never convince us the cow is smart by showing us the hamburger you made of it.

Is Kendall Jenner smart? How would I know? No one is marketing her mind, least of all her. Google “Kendall Jenner college” and what you get is not encouraging. She dropped out of high school to work on her reality shows, her “brand”, and modeling. Supposedly her parents are feuding over whether she should go to college (Bruce Jenner’s idea) or work on modelling and sex tapes (Kris Jenner’s idea).

I didn’t read that article, mind you. I don’t intend to. But if the synopsis that shows up in the search results is correct, it’s absolutely baffling. Aren’t women supposed to be wanting their daughters to be educated and smart? Aren’t men just wanting lots of pretty faces? And yet it’s her father who wants her to go to college, while her mother wants her to milk her looks for all she can, share her most private moments (and parts) with all the world, and get rich quick.

Looks fade. Celebrity is fleeting. What’s Paris Hilton up to these days? Or Lindsey Lohan? If you’re not getting into trouble or showing off a lot of skin no one seems to notice any more. We as a society have come to celebrate pretty train-wrecks. We’ll shower you with attention and money if you’re willing to humiliate or expose yourself in front of us all. And if you can manage to humiliate yourself by exposing yourself–well, that’s awesome-squared. You may be nothing but a body to the vast majority, but you’re laughing all the way to the bank. And that’s what counts, right?

Until someone else yanks the spotlight away. Zoom! Attention is gone. No one cares. Better go find a racier swimsuit or red-carpet outfit. Better get in a highly-publicized fight with someone. Just don’t say anything that goes against the mainstream in an interview. That’ll get you all kinds of the wrong attention.

Emma Watson graduated from Brown University last month. She doesn’t show up on the celebrity radar that much. Why not? Aren’t we supposed to value women for their minds?

Sure, so long as there’s nothing better to discuss, like whether Kendall Jenner’s latest outfit was so revealing it precluded underwear.