Hello, my lovely listeners. How are you today? I hope you are having a sparkly, happy day
wherever it is that you are listening to me. Now, my big question this week, it's about
the Kardashians. Do you love them or do you loathe them? As a 52-year-old woman, I can
say I've come around to the Kardashians, dare I say I do love them. And what I want to talk to
you about is why I've come to love them, why I think they tell us a lot about our society,
they tell us a lot about where we're at in the world. I used to be like probably many of you,
and whenever their name came up, I would moan and say, oh, what are they famous for? Nothing,
they're just famous for being themselves. They take up too much space, too much time. They're
fake, they're this, they're that. And I would really be very critical of them and the family,
as I can be sometimes. I don't want to be judgmental, but I can be judgmental at times.
And I'd think, oh, they're anti-women, they're this, they're that. Get on my soapbox. Then my
daughter said to me, as I think often our kids do, they almost hold a mirror up to us and make
us rethink things. And my eldest daughter said, Mum, have you ever actually watched the Kardashians?
Have you ever seen an episode? And I had to say, you know what, I haven't. She said, well, Mum,
how can you possibly then be so negative about them, go off about them when you haven't watched
them? That's sort of the opposite of what you always tell us to do, to give people a fair go,
to make sure you have all of your information before you decide to rave about a particular
opinion. And as my 15-year-old daughter is often right, I thought, you know what, Allegra,
you have a point. So we sat down and watched some of the Kardashians together. And do you know what?
I've got to confess, I am hooked. I can't get enough of them. And I think there's a couple of
reasons why I can't get enough of them. What I discovered watching the episodes, and do you know
what, not that I've watched all of them, because they in fact, their first Keeping Up With The
Kardashians, it ran for something like 14 years on the telly, 20 seasons. Now that is a lot of
television. You know what struck me? The love between this family, they fiercely love each other.
Yes, they might have arguments and barnies and carry on, but there's a lot of love there for each
other. They're incredibly loyal to one another as well. As well, they have incredible business
minds. They have shown us, I think, so much about being an entrepreneur. Of course,
Kris Jenner, the mum or the, how can I pronounce this? Is it the momager or the mum manager?
She is the matriarch of this family. And she really has helped drive her family to create
this incredible business. And it's not just any old business. Combined, they have something like
1.2 billion followers on social media. Let me just say that again. 1.2 billion followers.
So essentially, what that means is that the Kardashians are now the most powerful media
company or one of them in the world on the basis of the number of followers that they had. And so
Kris Jenner has helped to create that along with Kim. In the beginning, they were sort of the main
names behind Keeping Up With The Kardashians, but they've grown it to extend to the entire clan
and they all have their own businesses. And so again, I think that is something to admire.
I was asking Allegra, what is it that you like about the Kardashians? Yes, there's the fancy
frocks and the arguments and the fancy houses, but she's pretty impressed by the fact that they
are business women. That, you know, Kylie, who is the lipstick mogul, the makeup mogul, she's a
billionaire. I'm sure that part of her billions come from my daughter's makeup collection because
it's full of all this matte lipstick. I'm not a fan of matte. I prefer bright,
but Kylie perfected the art of the matte lipstick look. And that is smart. And she continues to grow
this extraordinary business. So again, please don't think I'm saying you must all love the
Kardashians like me, but I became more open to them. And I've spoken to a number of my girlfriends
who also have daughters of a certain age and they agree with me. They've also come around to
the Kardashians. They've seen the way that they've made themselves in the world. And there's something
to be said about these very strong young women who were very unapologetic about who they are.
Now you might disagree and say, well, wait a minute, who are they? And aren't they full of
fillers and Botox and this and that? So really are they who they are meant to be?
Let's just put that aside. The Kardashians, they're not terribly forthcoming about what they
have and haven't done to their face or their body. They have said, yes, they've had some Botox and
fillers, but regardless of that, they put themselves out there. And I think as a young
woman, that's pretty powerful. Of course, early on in the piece, there was the whole sex tape
controversy with Kim and it was suddenly leaked. And that was sort of what began Kim's fame. And
there was many unconfirmed reports that perhaps it was her mum, Chris, who had leaked that tape.
Of course, she wouldn't confirm or deny that. And a lot of people said, oh, that's terrible,
that's terrible. Let's also think about young women are more and more in control of their bodies.
And we've heard a narrative from Kim over the episodes about taking her power back,
about owning her sexuality, about owning who she is and not letting the shame of something
define the rest of her life. And that she was, I suppose, adamant about, no, you will not
slut shame me. And I think that is a very powerful message for young women growing up in an
increasingly sexualised society. And yeah, you might think I'm meandering all over the place and
you might argue, hey, come on, the Kardashians have actually sexualised society. Well, have they?
Or did that come before? Or has that always been there? It's just they've found a way perhaps
to monetise it and to have that incredible sort of big bum, teeny waist, big boob sort of figure.
Another thing as well that I hadn't considered, I was talking with a wonderful wardrobe stylist
I used to work with at Channel 10. And she loved the Kardashians before me. And we'd have quite
strong arguments about them. And she would say to me, you know why I love them? Because they
look like me. They have the same hair colour. They have the same body shape. They look like me.
And I felt finally, I was seeing women who were like me. And that was what first made her jump
onto the Kardashian bandwagon. So there are those sorts of reasons. I'll tell you another one why I
love the Kardashians. I'm obsessed with Kris Jenner. And there's a little part of me when
my daughters tease me, they say that I'm a bit like Kris Jenner. And is it alright to say,
I actually love that. I love that they think I'm a bit like Kris because here is a woman who is
unashamedly herself. She is flamboyant. She wears crazy colours and flowing dresses and she's sort
of herself. She's comfortable in her skin. And you've seen that over the seasons that she's sort
of embraced more and more who she is. And I love that. And I think she'd probably be
my favourite character in the Kardashians. As well, of course, we must mention Caitlyn Jenner.
And I was fascinated by those episodes when Caitlyn spoke about her transition. And I found
that very moving because it made me consider the topic of transgender. And it also made me
think here we are hearing something deeply personal but discussed on mainstream television
for a mainstream, mainly conservative American audience. So to be able to have these sorts of
discussions in the way that that family did, I thought was quite something. And regardless of
what you might think about then what happened down the track and the sorts of issues that
Caitlyn has subsequently got herself into, let's put that to one side. Let's just think about
how we saw a family navigating through one of the most painful periods and confronting periods in
their life really with love, with honesty and with understanding. So that alone, I think,
is really quite something. And they're not going to be going away in a hurry. They're powerful.
They have almost a gleeful tackiness about them. And I like that. I think that is, again, owning
who you are and what you are and being unapologetic about that. I mean, I remember
seeing an early episode where Kim was doing her first nude photoshoot for Playboy. And there's
Kris, her mum, on the sidelines saying, you're doing great, sweetie, you're doing great.
And there was a part of me that was sort of mortified thinking, oh my God, I could never
in my wildest dreams contemplate not only doing a nude photoshoot, but having my mum there
encouraging me along. I suppose that's my judgment and my way of doing my family.
But then I think if you're going to be doing something like that, it's pretty cool that your
mum would be there by your side, making sure you feel comfortable and supporting you in that way.
But it's still quite something. And I don't know if I'd be encouraging my daughters or I don't know
what I'd say if my daughter said, hey, mum, what do you think about this? But I tell you,
OK, let's rewind. If they did decide that was what they wanted to do, I would be there too.
I would be there like Kris. Perhaps I might have to turn my back, but I would be there
encouraging them to do whatever it was that they felt they needed to do. I bet you if Petey listens
to this, he'll be like, pussycat, are you saying that you want our daughters to be centrefolds?
No, I'm not saying that at all. But I'm trying to put myself in the mindset as a mum, as a parent,
nurturing, supporting our kids, being open with them and helping them lead their best lives. So
maybe that wasn't perhaps the best example. But anyway, I'm going to stick by it.
Can you think of a family, though, that has ever caused so much debate and conversation?
And can you think of a family who has the number of haters? I really think that is awful.
I think as a society, if you can't say anything nice, this is what my mum taught me, don't say
anything at all. So if you can't say anything nice about the Kardashians, don't say anything.
Switch off. You don't have to watch them. But if you do like them, if you do love them as I've
come to love them, let's be kind about them. Let's see what it is that we think is fabulous.
And you know what? For me, I love that they are strong, gutsy women who speak their minds,
who love each other fiercely, who show up for one another. And they are, to borrow a phrase from
Taria Pitt, kicking ass. Or no, she said big ass, but I suppose they do have big asses.
But, you know, they are kicking goals in the world. And I think that is something to admire.
Love to know what you think. Let me know. Send me a message via Insta. You'll see the post that
I post about our podcast. Send me a message there. Hop on TikTok. Send me some messages.
Because I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to get some of your views. Because of course,
this is what I think. Obviously, it's not what you all think. But that's the joy of having this
big question. Because of course, it's not a simple answer. Life is never black and white, is it?
Do you love the Kardashians? Do you loathe them? That is my big question of this week.
Thank you for listening and look out, Kris Jenner.