Do you ever talk to someone who comes across as trying their best to be a progressive person, but there’s something or another that they just can’t wrap their minds around?
That seems to be the case for Sharon Osbourne, whom we genuinely adore but … we have to admit that what she had to say about Kim Kardashian had us cringing.
Sharon Osbourne has taken aim at Kim Kardashian’s fondness for showing off her body.
At its heart, feminism — like any good social cause — is simple: a quest for gender equality.
That means opposing the patriarchal social values that have infested many cultures for millennia.
Just as LGBT rights and the push for racial equality, the goal is simple and you’d think that it would be almost universal.
Instead, somehow the label of “feminist” is controversial, thanks to an aggressive campaign of misinformation that tends to portray feminists in a certain way.
Even within feminism, there are — of course — many approaches to what is and is not feminist or what does and does not make a good feminist.
Some embrace the empowering concept of femininity.
Others find gender role associations and even gender itself to be limiting.
One factor that’s as divisive within feminism circles as it is everywhere else is sexuality.
And that’s where Sharon Osbourne has a beef with Kim Kardashian.
In a Telegraph interview, Sharon Osbourne attacks Kim Kardashian’s feminist credentials.
“Kim says she’s doing everything in the name of feminism, but that’s not feminism!”
Feminism’s goals may be simple, but a lot of people have very strong disagreements about the right way to get there.
“Those girls live off their bodies, half of L.A. has been through them and everything they do from the sex tape to the plastic see-through dresses and the gym wear is about sex, not female progress.”
Sharon doesn’t seem to have a personal dislike for the Kardashians, though.
“And listen: God bless them.”
But Sharon Osbourne still doubles down on slut-shaming Kim Kardashian.
“If Kim wants to show off her body, fine. But that’s not feminism, that’s being a ho.”
Except that a statement like if Kim wants to show off her body, fine is an inherently feminist statement.
“And there’s nothing wrong with being a ho, but always remember what you are.”
The thing is that Kim Kardashian isn’t even especially promiscuous. These days, she’s a married mom.
Does the way that people dress really define them to the point where a slang word for a sex worker applies to a monogamous mother?
We don’t think so.
Despite all of that, Sharon Osbourne’s definition of feminism is pretty accurate:
“For me, feminist is someone who advocates for the civil and social rights and liberties of all people, regardless of their gender.”
Yep.
“Anyone who believes that women should have the same choices and opportunities as men when it comes to education and employment, their bodies and their lifestyles.”
She even mentions bodies and lifestyles … as if everything that she’d said about Kim Kardashian had been said by someone else. In a dream.
“Of course I want these things! I’m all about empowering and uplifting women.”
Then maybe don’t tear them down for how much skin they show in photos?
“Obviously, there are things about me that people might say make me a feminist.”
Yes. It literally does. That’s how definitions work.
“I work hard, I make my own money, I’m comfortable and confident in my own skin, and I encourage women to be open and honest about their sexuality, and to embrace their beauty and their bodies.”
Part of embracing their beauty and their bodies might mean sharing photos of their flesh prisons without being bashful about it.
Nudity can be a feminist statement, though it doesn’t have to be.
Normalizing female toplessness can absolutely be a feminist statement, since so many people and places (lookin’ at you, Instagram) seem terrified of a woman’s nipples.
“But why do we have to put labels on things?”
Because labels are helpful, Sharon.
“You’re Republican, you’re Democrat, you’re bisexual, you’re plus-size, you’re poor, you’re a criminal, you’re a mother, you’re a feminist. I’m a human being, and I have thoughts, feelings and opinions about a lot of different things.”
In the past, Sharon has clarified that she is a feminist at heart but that she isn’t fond of labels. To each their own, we guess.
Kim Kardashian is a feminist. Whether or not she’s a good feminist is up for debate.
But really none of that has to do with the fact that the world has seen her badonkadonk.
It’s interesting that Sharon should say this, because Ozzy Osbourne had a whole bunch of mistresses (at least six) but Sharon is staying with him.
That’s right — even though Sharon initially split from Ozzy when she found out that he had been cheating on her, they reconciled and even renewed their vows earlier this year.
Some would say that this doesn’t make her a good feminist.
Honestly, what we think is that maybe Sharon is too set in her ways to understand how liberating some women find it to show off their bodies in ways that they control.
As we said, Kim Kardashian might make money off her body and she might have some very problematic elements that make her a less-than-perfect feminist, but she’s a feminist.
