Kim, We’re Getting Our F****** Asses Up
Just when we thought Molly-Mae telling us that everyone in the entire world has the same opportunities in 24 hours was bad enough, Kim Kardashian has decided to take out-of-touch to the next level.
In a recent interview with Variety, Kim Kardashian, who is considered famous simply for being famous, shared some … insightful advice for women in business: “get your f***ing ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days”. The comment, unsurprisingly, garnered some serious backlash for the socialite, not least of all because it suggests that a lack of success is only due to a lack of hard work. It’s doubly awful when considering the Kardashian has previously said that fellow socialite and ex-employer Paris Hilton “literally gave me a career”.
Her ‘advice’ overlooks the societal reasons behind lack of opportunities or not having the ability to accept them; racism, sexism, and, most tangibly, classism. Racism and sexism (and the intersection of the two) means that individuals who are qualified and deserving of a particular job role may be denied it, purely on the basis of their race or gender. In a survey of nearly 25,000 workers, only 3 out of 10 BIPOC workers said they were treated fairly by recruiters for new jobs and career progression opportunities.
This mistreatment isn’t an indication of lack of ambition- it’s prejudice in action, and not being successful securing the role or promotion isn’t because they didn’t get their “f***ing ass up”.
Similarly, Kim seems to have forgotten that success can be unattainable due to financial and family responsibilities for working class people. Poorly paid (or unpaid, full stop) internships that might be the key to achieving a well-paid, successful job aren’t possible for people who can’t afford to lose income in the short-term such as: single parents, people with dependents, those who are already on low incomes, and those who can’t afford the transport to get to unpaid internships in the nearest city. Especially not when a full-time job at the end of the apprenticeship/internship isn’t guaranteed.
To suggest that lack of success is because people don’t “[want] to work anymore” is a gross oversimplification of societal problems that bar individuals from the success and wealth that they deserve.
For such a privileged person to be diminishing these factors in the name of ‘offering advice’ to women in business is demeaning and patronising, and the backlash, hopefully, will educate Kim Kardashian about why success and hard work aren’t always correlated.
