Why Americans Dont Want To Look Like The Kardashians: The Real Reason
Okay, let's be real for a second. We all scroll through Instagram, right? And then, BAM! There they are. The Kardashians. Always perfectly contoured, always in the latest impossible-to-find designer gear, and always, always looking like they just stepped off a photoshoot that cost more than your entire life savings. It’s like a visual tsunami of flawless. And while we can all appreciate a good selfie game – who doesn't love a well-placed filter when their hair is doing that thing? – there's a big, fat, sparkly, diamond-encrusted elephant in the room: most of us don't actually want to look like them.
Now, before you start thinking I’m some kind of anti-glam, anti-ambition hermit, hold up! I’m not saying we don’t admire their hustle, their business savvy, or the fact that they can somehow make wearing a barely-there dress in freezing weather look… well, normal. It’s just the look itself. It’s become this… uniform. A very expensive, very sculpted uniform. It’s the “Kardashian Aesthetic,” if you will.
Think about it. It’s the impossibly smooth skin, so smooth you could probably slide a pizza across it. It’s the perfectly plucked eyebrows that have their own zip code. It’s the lips that have clearly had a serious, long-term relationship with a skilled plastic surgeon (and maybe a few vials of… something). It’s the snatched waists that defy the laws of physics and, let’s be honest, the laws of gravity after a particularly good Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a look that screams, “I have a team of twenty people dedicated to making me look this way at all times,” and most of us are lucky if we have a team of one – ourselves – trying to remember where we put our keys.
And this is where the “real reason” kicks in, and it’s actually pretty simple, and dare I say, kind of beautiful. We don't want to look like the Kardashians because we want to look like US. Golly, that sounds revolutionary, doesn’t it?
We’re talking about the perfectly imperfect. The laugh lines that tell stories of genuine joy, not just a well-timed Botox injection. The little quirks that make us unique. The fact that sometimes, our hair just will not cooperate, and that’s okay! In fact, sometimes that’s even better. It’s relatable. It’s real life. It’s the messy bun that’s held together with sheer willpower and a prayer, not a team of stylists.
It’s the quiet confidence that comes from knowing you’re enough, just as you are, without needing to be airbrushed into oblivion.
Let’s take an example. Imagine your friend, the one who’s always cracking jokes and has that infectious laugh. She might have a slightly crooked smile, or a beauty mark that sits a little off-center. Does that detract from her charm? Absolutely not! It adds to it. It makes her memorable. It makes her her.
Now, contrast that with the relentless pursuit of that one specific, manufactured ideal. It’s like everyone is trying to fit into the same tiny, sparkly shoe. And guess what? Not only does that shoe not fit everyone, but it also starts to feel a little… boring. We’ve seen it. We’ve admired it from afar. But it’s like looking at a perfectly curated art exhibit. Beautiful, yes. But you can’t really touch it. You can’t really live in it.
The real reason Americans (and honestly, people all over the world) don't want to look like the Kardashians is because we value authenticity. We crave connection. We want to see ourselves reflected, not in a distorted, airbrushed mirror, but in the everyday, wonderful, sometimes messy reality of life.
It’s the woman who rocks her natural grey hairs with pride. It’s the dad who has a little bit of baby food permanently on his shoulder. It’s the teenager who’s experimenting with their style, sometimes getting it hilariously wrong, but doing it with confidence. These are the faces, the styles, the people we connect with. These are the people who make us feel seen.
The Kardashian look, while undeniably powerful in its own right, can sometimes feel like a beautiful, unattainable facade. It’s a polished perfection that, for most of us, doesn’t quite align with the rich tapestry of our own lives. We’re not trying to be clones; we’re celebrating the glorious, messy, magnificent originals that we are.
And that, my friends, is the real reason. It’s not about hating on glamour. It’s about loving ourselves, in all our wonderfully un-Kardashian-like glory. So go ahead, rock that slightly unruly hair, embrace that laugh line, and know that you are, in your own unique way, absolutely stunning. And that’s a kind of beauty that no amount of contouring can ever truly replicate.
It’s the kind of beauty that makes us feel good. It’s the kind of beauty that feels like home. And frankly, who wouldn’t want that?