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Runninghead:BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 1
Because You’re Worth It:
Narcissism, Kim Kardashian, and the Selfie as a Commodity
Rachel E. Davis
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 2
Abstract
Selfies have become a common aspect of our daily social interactions, and they have also
become a source of income for many women. Kim Kardashian may be the best-known social
media mogul. By carefully curating and sharing objectifying selfies on social media, Kardashian
offers an example of the ways in which narcissism can be expressed and profited from in the age
of social media. Many young women on social media laud Kardashian’s undeniable business
savvy and suggest that she is empowered because she controls her own image. However, Sandra
Bartky’s notion of the fashion-beauty complex in her book Femininity and Domination is helpful
in understanding the oppressive and alienating labor involved in the production and
dissemination of selfies, while Beauvoir’s conclusion about the inescapable vulnerability and
dependence of the narcissist suggests that Kardashian’s independence and empowerment may be
illusory.
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 3
Because You’re Worth It:
Narcissism, Kardashian, and the Selfie as a Commodity
Selfies have become a common aspect of our daily social interactions, and they have also
become a source of income for many women. Kim Kardashian West, typically referred to using
her maiden name, may be the best-known social media mogul. She has to her name over 50
million Instagram followers, a published art book containing two thousand of her selfies, a
mobile role-playing game based on her life, and multiple reality television starring her and her
family. Many young women hail her as an empowered feminist icon, while critics denounce her
as shallow, vapid, and narcissistic. This disagreement is mirrored in theories about selfies, but
research has not been able to reach a consensus regarding a real correlation between selfie
posting and narcissism. I posit that this lack of consensus is due in large part to a mistaken lack
of differentiation between different types of selfie, which I will call “Experience Selfies” and
“Object Selfies.” The Object Selfie may be theorized to function much like the mirror image in
Simone de Beauvoir’s (2011) The Second Sex, but rather than remaining private a selfie can be
shared with the public through social media. By carefully curating and sharing Object Selfies on
social media, Kardashian offers an example of the ways in which narcissism can be expressed
and profited from in the age of social media. Many young women on social media laud
Kardashian’s undeniable business savvy and suggest that she is empowered because she controls
her own image. However, Sandra Bartky’s (1990) notion of the fashion-beauty complex in her
book Femininity and Domination is helpful in understanding the oppressive and alienating labor
involved in the production and dissemination of Object Selfies, while Beauvoir’s (2011)
conclusion about the inescapable vulnerability and dependence of the narcissist suggests that
Kardashian’s personal power may be illusory.
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 4
Literature Review
Articles and think pieces about selfies abound, and they range from dismissive to
alarmist. Some writers argue that selfies are harmless (Wortham, 2013), while others suggest that
they represent the decline of our society into a narcissistic dystopian surveillance state (Giroux,
2015). In every single piece about selfies, the common argument that selfies are narcissistic is
mentioned at least once (Best, 2015; Eler, 2013; Giroux, 2015; Gram, 2013; Hendry, 2014;
Murray, 2015; Sastre, 2014; Schlesselman-Tarango, 2013; Senft & Baym, 2015; Shipley, 2015;
Weiser, 2015; Wendt, 2014; Wortham, 2013). However, most writers adopt a more nuanced and
multifaceted perspective on selfies. Wortham (2013) has suggested that selfies are primarily a
way to make communication online more like face-to-face interaction. She writes, “Receiving a
photo of the face of the person you’re talking to brings back the human element of the
interaction, which is easily misplaced if the interaction is primarily text-based” (Wortham,
2013). Many writers have discussed the relationship of selfies to capitalism, and they all suggest
that some selfies are perpetuations of consumerism and commodification of one’s identity, while
others are radical struggles against a marginalizing and alienating culture (Best, 2015; Giroux,
2015; Gram, 2013; Murray, 2015). Many writers stress that a radical and revolutionary use of
selfies is possible and perhaps even common (Eler, 2013; Giroux, 2015; Hendry, 2014; Sastre,
2014; Shipley, 2015). Murray (2015) writes of young women’s selfies, “Viewed individually,
they appear rather banal, commonplace, and benign. Taken en masse, it feels like a revolutionary
political movement—like a radical colonization of the visual realm and an aggressive reclaiming
of the female body” (p. 490). Gram (2013), in “The Young-Girl and the Selfie,” argues that
social media and selfies allow teenage girls an opportunity to have their gendered labor—hair,
clothes, and makeup, which previously went unacknowledged by the general public—recognized
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 5
and to recognize the labor of others. This is not to suggest, however, that selfies are inherently
positive or empowering. In this theorization selfies simply serve to perpetuate the capitalist
system, albeit in a way that renders young women more visible within it. This theorization agrees
with Bartky’s (1990) notion of the fashion-beauty complex and the alienating labor involved in
women’s production of beauty.
Because the concept of the selfie is so new, scientific research on the topic is in its
infancy. Only a handful of studies have explored the relationship between the two, and the
results have been inconclusive. Some studies have shown that there is a correlation between
narcissism and selfie-posting frequency, but only among men (Fox & Rooney, 2015;
Sorokowski, Sorokowska, Oleszkiewicz, Frackowiak, Huk, & Pisanski, 2015), while one has
shown a correlation between both genders (Weiser, 2015). Sorokowski et al. (2015) suggest,
“Inconsistencies in studies examining links between narcissism and social media usage may be
due to the possibility that narcissism is related to the posting of only a specific picture type, i.e.
‘selfies’” (p. 124). The mixed results of studies based on this assumption suggest that studying
selfies as a homogenous communication medium is overly simplistic. Senft and Baym (2015)
write that “for all its usage, the term [selfie]—and more so the practice(s)—remain
fundamentally ambiguous, fraught, and caught in a stubborn and morally loaded hype cycle” (p.
1588). In order to better understand the relationship of narcissism to selfies, we must first gain a
better understanding of selfies by offering more solid definitions of what they are.
Types of Selfie
The lack of consensus in research on selfies might be partially due to a lack of
differentiation between what I consider to be two very different types of selfie, which I will call
“Experience Selfies” and “Object Selfies.” The Experience Selfie depicts the subject in a specific
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 6
context, such as the one in Figure 1 showing Kardashian with her sister and nephew in New
York City, and is intended to capture a moment in time. This type of selfie is typically defined by
context, which may be provided by the caption of the photo, the background of the photo, and/or
by the other people appearing in the photo. Sharing this type of selfie is a way to share an
experience, whether it is an accomplishment, an emotion, or just a moment in time. This is the
most common type of selfie. I am concerned with the Object Selfie. This type of selfie depicts
the subject as a passive object and may be sexualized, such as the one in Figure 2 emphasizing
Kardashian’s breasts. Often, this type of selfie is offered without context, with no meaningful
caption and with nothing of significance in the background. Sharing this type of selfie may play
a role in modern narcissism and may be objectifying and alienating.
Object Selfie
In Beauvoir’s (2011) book The Second Sex the narcissist objectifies herself, and the
mirror plays a central role in accomplishing this objectification. Beauvoir (2011) suggests that
little girls are encouraged to identify themselves with their dolls, leading them to make a
connection between the doll’s passive and objectified body and their own (p. 668). In this way,
the doll is the materialization of the doubling of the self as Other and object, as alien and passive.
Beauvoir (2011) suggests that once girls leave their dolls behind in adolescence, they are
encouraged to use a mirror reflection as a way to recreate the experience they had with their dolls
(p. 668). The reflection in the mirror may be experienced as alien to oneself and as an object.
The Object Selfie might serve the same purpose that the mirror does in Beauvoir’s
theory, but the selfie is different because it can be shared with others, while the mirror reflection
must remain private. Kardashian, by using selfies and other modern technology to broadcast a
form of narcissism, has managed to make this labor hugely profitable. The selfie in Figure 3 is in
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 7
many ways the ultimate expression of the selfie as mirror. This selfie is a perfect example of the
Object Selfie because there is nothing in the background, which has been deliberately obscured
by a screen, and the main purpose of the photo is to emphasize her buttocks and her breast. This
photo has reached near iconic status largely because of her husband Kanye West’s (2013)
response to it, which read “HEADING HOME NOW.” This evokes a quote from Beauvoir about
the power of the mirror image:
The whole future is concentrated in this rectangle of light, and its frame makes a
universe; outside these narrow limits, things are no more than disorganized chaos;
the world is reduced to this piece of glass where one image shines: the One and
Only. Every woman drowned in her reflection reigns over space and time, alone,
sovereign; she has total rights over men, fortune, glory, and sensual pleasure. (p.
669)
By sharing this mirror image on social media, Kardashian was able to create an iconic image
recognized by millions of people, and her famous husband’s response to her image cemented her
total rights over men, fortune, glory, and sensual pleasure. In this way, the selfie has made the
mirror image profitable by making it shareable on social media, and Kardashian has capitalized
on that profitability in a big way.
Narcissism
Many of the characteristics Beauvoir (2011) assigns to the narcissist conjure a
remarkably clear image of Kardashian. Beauvoir (2011) writes that some narcissists
“systematically create a figure whose role they consistently play: it has already been said that
women have trouble differentiating this game from the truth” (p. 672). Kardashian has
systematically created a role for herself, not only in her reality show, which by definition blurs
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 8
the lines between what is true and false, but also in her mobile game in which she is a main
character. Beauvoir (2011) writes of the narcissist, “Her whole life is transfigured into a sacred
drama. In her solemnly chosen dress emerges both a priestess clothed in holy garb and an idol
attired by faithful hands, offered for the adoration of devotees” (p. 674). Kardashian regularly
posts photos on social media of herself being dressed and pampered by an entire team of people.
She is always dressed in designer clothes, the modern equivalent of “holy garb,” and these
photos are shared for the adoration of her “devotees” or followers. Beauvoir (2011) also writes,
“The narcissist’s generosity is profitable to her: better than in mirrors, it is in others’ admiring
eyes she sees her double haloed in glory” (p. 675). This is a good example of the way in which
Object Selfies function as a more profitable version of the mirror image. Rather than seeking the
admiring eyes of others outside of the mirror image, the narcissist can now gain the admiring
eyes of others through the mirror image by sharing it on social media. For Kardashian this
profitability is literal, as she earned an estimated 52.5 million dollars in 2015 alone (Forbes,
2015). Beauvoir writes, “An ambitious narcissist wants to exhibit herself in a more recherché and
varied way. In particular, making her life a play offered to public applause, she will take delight
in really staging herself” (p. 676). This is a particularly remarkable similarity between
Beauvoir’s (2011) characterization of the narcissist and Kardashian. Kardashian has quite
literally offered her life as a play to the public in the form of her reality show, Keeping Up with
the Kardashians, which is currently in its 11th season. Technology such as camera phones and
social media has taken Beauvoir’s characterizations of the narcissist out of the realm of the
hypothetical and into the realm of reality, making possible many narcissistic desires that were
previously unattainable.
Fashion-Beauty Complex
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 9
Expanding upon Beauvoir’s (2011) work, Bartky (1990) theorizes that feminine
narcissism is “infatuation with an inferiorized body” (emphasis hers, p. 40). This narcissism is
created and maintained by what she calls the “fashion-beauty complex,” a “vast system of
corporations—some of which manufacture products, others services and still others information,
images, and ideologies—of emblematic public personages and of sets of techniques and
procedures” (Bartky, 1990, p. 39). She writes that the fashion-beauty complex overtly “seeks to
glorify the female body and to provide opportunities for narcissistic indulgence” (Bartky, 1990,
p. 39). According to Bartky (1990), this indulgence can only be realized through “a sense of
successful adaptation to standards of feminine bodily presence generated by the enemies of
women” (p. 40). Kardashian is an enthusiastic participant in the fashion-beauty complex, using
her social media platform to share hair and makeup techniques, promote certain clothing brands,
and advocate potentially harmful weight loss techniques such as Premadonna waist trainers,
which many experts warn could damage abdominal organs and muscle tissues (Hinde, 2015).
Bartky (1990) writes of the alienation women experience as a result of the sexual objectification
inherent in the fashion-beauty complex:
Woman has lost control of her own image, lost control to those whose production
of these images is neither innocent nor benevolent, but obedient to imperatives
which are both capitalist and phallocentric. In sum, women experience a twofold
alienation in the production of her own persons: The beings we are to be are mere
bodily beings; nor can we control the shape and nature these bodies are to take.
(p. 42)
Kardashian seems to be in control of her own brand and image, and in many ways she is because
she produces and distributes her image primarily through selfies and social media rather than
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 10
through the more traditional route involving male photographers and male-oriented publications
(though her image is also produced and sold through those media). However, Beauvoir (2011)
raises a valid counter to this argument when she writes, “The American woman, trying to be an
idol, makes herself the slave of her admirers, does not dress, live, or breathe other than through
the man and for him . . . If she escapes an individual man’s domination, it is by accepting the
tyranny of public opinion” (p. 681-2). Kardashian has escaped domination by any individual man
by earning millions of dollars through the cultivation of a public image, primarily on social
media. However, the argument that Kardashian autonomously controls her image misunderstands
the very nature of social media, which enables us to determine a person’s worth through the
number of followers and likes they receive. So while Kardashian’s livelihood may not depend on
any individual man, it does depend upon public opinion, which is informed by the fashion-beauty
complex. Therefore, Kardashian’s control of her image through the use of selfies and social
media is alienating rather than self-actualizing.
Conclusion
Conceptualizations of the selfie as a revolutionary tool to reclaim women’s bodies are
valid. However, Kardashian is not a part of this revolution. She peddles the selfie as a
commodity and seeks to turn the self into a mass consumed product. This self must appeal to the
masses and will therefore represent the beauty standards of the day. Kardashian’s use of the
selfie is indicative of the selfie’s place in a capitalist market. Kardashian has pioneered a way to
be recognized for and profit from a type of labor that has long been required of but gone
unrewarded in women and girls for decades. However, the apparent autonomy and self-
determination afforded to Kardashian through selfies and social media is an illusion. Although
Kardashian may not be dependent on any individual man, she remains dependent on the fashion-
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 11
beauty complex and on public attention for her livelihood. And according to Beauvoir (2011), by
remaining so “she dooms herself to the most severe slavery” (p. 681).
BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 12
Works Cited
Bartky, S. L. (1990). Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression.
New York: Routledge.
Beauvoir, S. (2011). The Second Sex. (C. Borde & S. Malovany-Chevallier, Trans.). New York:
Vintage Books. (Original work published 1949)
Best, C. (2015). Narcissism or self-actualization? An evaluation of ‘selfies’ as a communication
tool. In D. S. Coombs, S. Collister, & J. Marino (Eds.), Debates for the Digital Age: The
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Our Online World (55-76). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-
CLIO.
Eler, A. (2013, Nov. 25). The feminist politics of #selfies. Hyperallergic. Retrieved from
http://hyperallergic.com/95150/the-radical-politics-of-selfies/
Forbes. (2015, Dec. 8). #33 Kardashian. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/profile/-
kardashian/
Fox, J. & Rooney, M. C. (2015). The dark triad and trait self-objectification as predictors of
men’s use and self-presentation behaviors on social networking sites. Personality and
Individual Differences 76, 161-165.
Giroux, H. (2015). Selfie culture in the age of corporate and state surveillance. Third Text 29(3),
155-164.
Gram, S. (2013, Mar. 1). The young girl and the selfie [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://text-relations.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-young-girl-and-selfie.html
Hendry, N. (2014, Oct. 15). Selfie as pedagogy: Young people x mental illness x social media.
How the ‘Selfie’ Performs Across Time and Place, ARC Centre of Excellence for the
History of Emotions and the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne.
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Hinde, N. (2015, Apr. 22). Is ‘waist training’ safe? Here’s what Kardashian’s favourite fitness
trend could really do to your body. HuffPost Lifestyle United Kingdom.
Murray, D. C. (2015). Notes to self: The visual culture of selfies in the age of social media.
Consumption Markets & Culture 18(6), 490-516.
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Sastre, A. (2014). Towards a radical body positive. Feminist Media Studies 14(6), 929-943.
Schlesselman-Tarango, G. (2013). Searchable signatures: Context and the struggle for
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Senft, T. M. & Baym, N. K. (2015). What does the selfie say? Investigating a global
phenomenon. International Journal of Communication 9, 1588-1606.
Shipley, J. W. (2015). Selfie love: Public lives in an era of celebrity pleasure, violence, and
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Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Oleszkiewicz, A., Frackowiak, T., Huk, A., & Pisanski, K.
(2015). Selfie posting behaviors are associated with narcissism among men. Personality
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BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 14
West, K. (2013, Oct. 17). HEADING HOME NOW [Tweet]. Retrieved from
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BECAUSEYOU’REWORTHIT 15
Figures
Figure 1: Kardashian with her sister and nephew in New York City.
Figure 2: Cover of Kardashian book of selfies.
Figure 3: Selfie shared by Kardashian on Instagram.