kyliejenner/InstagramIf you live in the public eye people are going to talk about you, and nobody on earth lives in the eye of the social media storm quite like the Kardashians.
Kylie Jenner, the youngest of America’s most social family, has literally grown up in the spotlight and now that’s become the topic of a(nother) creepy meme.
The meme strongly implies Kylie’s transformation into the 20-year-old Queen of Instagram wasn’t completely natural.
"Puberty" pic.twitter.com/bFL5lU8arU
— Paul Sacca (@Paul_Sacca) February 22, 2017
Kylie’s curated existence leaves many of her devotees concerning themselves with what is ‘real’ about her appearance and what, on the contrary, she has injected, dyed, plumped, preened and paid for with her largely inherited millions – you know, the Big Questions.
In Kylie’s defence, puberty is a pretty rubbish time for most people but going through the most awkward years of your life with the whole world examining every single part of you must be scary.
Kylie has spoken out about the unique pressures this charmed existence lays before her:
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Not to mention the sad fact that some male (and, surprisingly, female) observers seem not to understand the concept of female biology, which causes certain aspects of a woman’s body to change.
Of course Kylie does invite an unusual amount of attention on social media because that is how she makes her living selling lip kits and t-shirts to people who admire her online persona.
Like this guy, who has received death threats over his obsession:
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People were always going to dissect her life, so she might as well be earning some dollar.
In fairness to the people who find Kylie’s appearance highly suspect both Kylie and Kendal looked very different in 2008.
GettyBut then who didn’t look different in 2008?
It was almost 10 years ago. Scrolling that far back in my Facebook photos is a bizarre form of torture. No wonder no one can Keep Up with Kylie.
Kylie herself has joked about her own unusual ageing:
But despite admitting that she’s changed rather quickly the reality TV star has previously denied having plastic surgery.
Tempting as it is to side with the mean spirited meme makers in this instance it’s important to remember that Kylie was a teenager going through all the normal stuff teenagers go through – but in an unimaginably unusual setting.
Kylie is now rumoured to be expecting her first child and I’m sure you’re sick to death of hearing about the alleged gender of the unborn innocent, whether Kylie is secretly Kim and Kanye’s surrogate, and if the baby will also benefit from the ever-growing klan’s notoriously nepotistic lifestyle.
kourtneykardashian/InstagramBut this new Jenner-ation will bring with it a particularly beautiful new dawn.
The life of Kylie is a strange and sad case of self-censorship, self-objectification and self-preservation which you can hardly blame her for, considering she’s unfairly hounded left, right and centre by tabloids, while remaining utterly reliant on press for her livelihood.
And, after perusing some of the sick, depraved comments on social media about both Kylie and her unborn innocent child, I’m guessing there’s a lot of people who would rather Kylie wasn’t in the public eye so much.
Those cold-hearted folk may just get their way (if and) when the little tyke comes along.
The beauty businesswoman has already been incredibly quiet on Instagram since TMZ revealed she was expecting – but most of us would chalk it up to fear of systematic criticism pregnant women and their baby bumps face from keyboard warriors.
However, Kylie has previously dropped hints she wouldn’t be so active online if she became a mum, saying she’d prefer to immerse herself in a quiet family life.
Speaking about starting a family back in 2015, Kylie told Elle:
I would love to have a family and build a home with a farm in Malibu Canyon and just have my kids and throw away my phone, and just really, like, live my life and not do this anymore.
You know, I’ll probably delete my Instagram and just… I don’t know, live life.
PAIf the rumour-mill is anything to go by, 20-year-old Kylie is eight months pregnant and expecting her child with rapper boyfriend, Travis Scott, 25, in January.
The news was ever-so conveniently announced the day before the family celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the first episode of their reality TV show airing, suggesting the ‘social media guru’ is under the watchful eye of puppet-master-turned-momager Kris Jenner.
What she would think about a social media hiatus is beyond us all.
But, the dip in activity has been eerily frustrating for the self-titled Dash Dolls, who’ve been sending themselves west reading way too much into Kylie’s limited online updates, and creepily demanding to see a baby bump in the comments sections across the world wide web.
Thus is the strange, baffling world we live in.
So, perhaps it would be better for everyone’s sanity if Kylie Jenner just subtly dropped under the radar; better for her obsessive fans to abandon their idol and carry on living their lives, better for the expectant mum’s self-worth in the face of a barrage of abuse and most importantly, better for her unborn child?
Kylie is a product of a social media generation. She sparks a dangerous cocktail of reactions from the public, ranging from reverence, to rage, to utter disrespect by way of ridicule and reckless indifference.
It’s not to say she’s responsible for the backlash she so regularly receives for simply existing. It’s almost like it’s not personal – even though words can hurt her just as much as anyone else.
It’s almost as if she simply represents everything wrong and unjust about our capitalist system which rewards elitist connections and beautifully made-up faces.
We – as a society – created these social media creatures. Some blindly bolster them to fame and fortune, while others cruelly tear them down.
Maybe by early next year Kylie will have ‘realised things’ enough to see social media can be both a blessing and a curse – and make a really, really powerful New Year’s Resolution vlog, that I for one will be watching intently.
Kommence the search for yet another Kute baby name Kicking off with the letter K.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.