Why Kim Kardashian deserved to be taken seriously in her visit with President Trump

Vox

Kardashian was the one who was mocked, even though she was meeting with a fellow reality TV veteran in the Oval Office on Wednesday, to discuss prison reform. "It’s tempting to say that Kardashian just isn’t serious," says Laura McGann. "She’s a reality star. She makes millions selling a brand on top of questionable products. But Trump, too, is a reality star. He, too, makes millions selling a brand on top of questionable products. The difference is that Trump is the modern male archetype. Kardashian is his female foil. The reaction to Kardashian is a window into how we think about male and female leadership. Trump is an alpha man who never backs down, never apologizes, and never accepts 'no.' He gets to be president. Kardashian is the modern female archetype — she is thin (except in the places it’s difficult to be plump), she is ageless, and she glamorizes motherhood. Her politicking is treated as a joke." ALSO: The image of Kardashian and Trump is an "'American Gothic' for the age of gaudy, late-capitalist spectacle."