+
upworthy
Most Shared

Kim Kardashian's essay on International Women's Day was ... awesome, actually.

The reality star makes an excellent point about body-shaming.

Chances are, you feel some sort of way about Kim Kardashian.

She's built a career on snapping selfies, starring in reality TV, and blanketing the home pages of tabloid websites. She's not everyone's cup of tea, and hey — that's perfectly fine.


Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

But even if you're not a fan, you should probably read the open letter she published March 7, 2016, on her website in honor of International Women's Day.

Because the essay makes some excellent points about how we view women and their bodies — especially given the news surrounding her social media presence.

If you haven't heard, Kardashian posted a nude selfie to her Instagram account.

And the photo caused quite the (unfortunate) stir.

Many people on social media — including celebrities like Piers Morgan, Bette Midler, and Chloë Grace Moretz — decided to chime in on the image to let Kardashian know they were not thrilled. And all it takes is one glance at the more than 341,000 comments left on the photo to spot the consistent theme of many of the criticisms directed at Kardashian because of herdecision to share a nude photo:

Slut-shaming. It's alive and well on the Internet, folks.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

Degrading Kardashian for choosing to share an image of her own body is sort of messed up. Why? "Embarrassing, insulting or otherwise denigrating a girl or woman for her real or extrapolated sexual behavior" is never good for any woman, as writer Soraya Chemaly once put it. And that includes Kim K.

It's an issue the reality star took head on in her essay.

Kardashian defended her decision to share the photo, saying that for her, her body is a source of strength and empowerment.

"I am empowered by my body," she wrote.

"I am empowered by my sexuality. I am empowered by feeling comfortable in my skin. I am empowered by showing the world my flaws and not being afraid of what anyone is going to say about me. And I hope that through this platform I have been given, I can encourage the same empowerment for girls and women all over the world."

"I feel so lucky to have grown up surrounded by strong, driven, independent women. The life lessons I’ve learned from my sisters, my mother, and my grandmother, I will pass along to my daughter. I want her to be proud of who she is. I want her to be comfortable in her body. I don’t want her to grow up in a world where she is made to feel less-than for embracing everything it means to be a woman."

"It’s 2016," Kardashian concluded. "The body-shaming and slut-shaming — it’s like, enough is enough. I will not live my life dictated by the issues you have with my sexuality. You be you and let me be me."

Kardashian closed the letter with the hashtag #HappyInternationalWomensDay.

You can read it in its entirety on her website.

Fortunately, plenty of stars stood by Kardashian's decision to do whatever she wants with her body (and Instagram account).

Like Abigail Breslin, who ran to Kardashian's defense.


And actor and model Emily Ratajkowski, who said it like it is.

"Modern Family" star Ariel Winter pointed out a hard truth.


And model Chrissy Teigen cracked a joke about the whole situation in support of her friend.


Actor (and all around amazing human) Rowan Blanchard also stood up for the reality star.

"Why are feminists mad at Kim K [for] consensually posting a pic of her own body," Blanchard tweeted, noting that women should use the power of the selfie in whatever way they choose. “Nonconsensual nudes of women are leaked all the time by abusers and [you] are mad at a woman being proud of and happy with her own body?"

Slut-shaming harms girls and women in many ways. And Kardashian deserves a thumbs up for getting it right this time around.

Slut-shaming hinders gender equality in many ways — even when it's subtle. It sets double standards between men and women when it comes to sexual liberation (because who wants to be that girl, who's known for sleeping with half the class?). It contributes to rape culture (because if a girl was asking for it by the way she dresses, then it's sort of her fault, too, huh?). And it welcomes adolescence bullying (because it's OK to judge the girl who wears too much makeup or wears the wrong clothes, right?).

Kardashian is by no means the perfect feminist (and really, no one is), and she's definitely not always on the right side of the body-positivity train (her comments about her brother's weight gain, for example). But this time, she really put the patriarchy in its place.

GIF via "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

True

The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


Keep ReadingShow less
Pets

Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Service dog flunks out of training school in spectacular fashion

The other dogs can't believe what they are seeing.

Double H Canine Academy in Louisville, Kentucky is a place where dog owners can take their rambunctious pets and have them turned into respectable members of the family.

However, as you can tell in this hilarious video, not all dogs are meant to follow orders.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Video of sisters trying to fix a DIY haircut perfectly captures the chaos of sisterhood

“This is THE sisters experience…you captured the whole thing."

@palmview956oficial/TikTok

Sisterhood in a nutshell

Ask any group of sisters what it was like growing up with each other, and they will undoubtedly use the word chaos. Girlhood in itself is a bit of a delightfully feral time. Add yet another wild child (or more) into the mix, and you never know what’s going to happen.

But there’s also a beautiful loyalty. Sure, sisters can turn from friends to enemies on a dime, but in those purer moments, you’ll see them stop at nothing to help one another.

And it’s all these aspects, and everywhere in between, that were captured in a hilarious TikTok as three sisters banded together to fix a DIY haircut gone wrong…the day before school picture day, no less.
Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Mom tells wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a 'chocolate baby' while out grocery shopping

People have a sneaking suspicion that the little girl has seen 'Corina, Corina' one too many times.

Mom shares wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a baby

Sometimes we hear a story that makes us collectively confused. Should we be offended? Laugh? Donate to a parents future bail fund for their children? It's really a toss up but the consensus on this mom's eyebrow raising story is that laughter and bail money are both appropriate responses.

Maranda Arbogast, a mom that runs the TikTok page, momma.chaos, shared a hilariously mortifying story of a time she took her three daughters grocery shopping and somehow wound up in a, "one of these things is not like the others" moment. The mom of three leads into the story by explaining that she is raising children that will likely have run ins with the law.

"Some families gotta save money for medical expenses or college funds. We gotta save money for bail because we are raising criminals, especially my middle daughter. It's always the middle child," Arbogast jokes. "She's gotta be frisked before we leave anywhere."

Keep ReadingShow less
@hannahjeanrn/TikTok

What a unique bonding experience

Period simulators gave cis-gendered men a painful glimpse of what women go through on a monthly basis. But what about going through life with an actual human growing in their belly?

That’s where the watermelon challenge comes in.

TikTok’s watermelon challenge is a simple concept, where dads-to-be strap watermelons, weighing somewhere around 14 pounds, onto their bellies in order to simulate what it’s like for pregnant moms. Bonus point for taping mangos onto the chest because #lactation.

The results are both hilarious and illuminating.

Keep ReadingShow less