Kendall Jenner’s Bikini Pics Are Not Necessarily A Cry For Attention
If you just looked at the headlines, you might think that Kendall Jenner is releasing a sex tape with a mediocre R&B singer. The 16-year-old lil sis to Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian is being described as “provocative” and trying to follow in their “self-made celebrity” footsteps.
So what did this teenager do to get so much attention, and more than a little criticism? She tweeted the above picture with the super-scandalous caption, “Miss summer!”
Are you tsk-ing her right now? Shaking your head at her desperate pleas for the attention? Are you insulted and offended because there’s a hint of 16-year-old cleavage on your screen?
Because let me go on record as saying, I’m not. I’m not in the least bit worried, provoked or even interested in Kendall Jenner in what seems to be an age-appropriate two-piece bathing suit. Though I will warn her that her tan lines are showing.
What I find a whole lot more interesting that Jenner’s twit pics are the world’s reaction to them. “Kendall Jenner, 16, tweets provocative bikini photo, following in footsteps of Kardashian sisters,” reads NY Daily News. Us Weekly gives the headline, “Kendall Jenner, 16, Posts Sexy Bikini Pic on Twitter.” Wet Paint says, “Kendall Jenner Flaunts Her Bikini Bod on Twitter!”
When I was 16, I had plenty of pictures of myself running around on the beach in a bikini. Each spring break, my friends and I would take a million shots of us lying on the sand in our two-pieces. And yep, we would come home and share with each other. For those of us with our own computers, we might even upload the things to Facebook or MySpace.
As a teenager, I wasn’t begging for the attention of everyone around me simply because I shared a picture of myself in a two-piece. As an avid swimmer who grew up with a pool in my back yard, wearing a swim suit was pretty much second nature. Those pictures were to celebrate a vacation or good times with my friends. And yes, sometimes it was just to say how much I loved being outside in the sun.
Kendall Jenner is a member of the Kardashian family, so our first instinct it to cry “publicity” with every move she makes. But this isn’t a “provocative” photo. She isn’t flaunting her figure. She’s acting like any normal teenager would and plenty of us already have.
Maybe even a child of Kris Jenner deserves a little slack here. Let’s save our criticism for something that’s worth it. If she decides to have a lavish, PR-filled wedding sometime in the new future, go to town with the sibling comparisons. Until then, let’s leave the teenager alone.
(Photo: NY Daily News)
