Her rhetorical question — are we still asking about women if they’re pregnant — is a valid one. Sadly, it seems, the answer is yes, despite a broader cultural shift away from this line of questioning in formal interviews with media outlets. When it comes to other people’s bodies, the terms of basic respect generally dictate that questions and commentary of any kind — positive, negative, or seemingly benign — are never kosher. Why be nosy and rude when you could simply mind your business?
But Kardashian’s social media exchange raises another question, too — one with murkier ethical implications. In a @commentsbycelebs thread discussing her clap back, some argued the nature of Kardashian’s celebrity makes discourse about her body fair game. “Whilst it’s an inappropriate question, this family literally monetized their bodies and then they wonder why people ask when their figures change,” one commenter wrote.
Indeed, Kourtney and other members of the Kar-Jenner clan have made millions by promoting and normalizing unrealistic beauty standards, then selling products and procedures to people who want what they have. On the backs of their followers, the Kardashians have turned the never-ending pursuit of unattainable physical ideals into a billion-dollar family business.
Perhaps, then, it’s not so simple to parse when and if Kourtney Kardashian’s body should be discussed. But I’m guessing this won’t be the last time we try.
This story originally appeared on glamour.com.
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