Recently, North West, eldest daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West , made headlines for a controversial outfit choice that appeared years beyond her age of 12. In the photo, she sports a corset, mini-skirt and a dermal piercing on her finger. Some deemed her look as inappropriate while others viewed it as self-expression. While I don’t necessarily agree with how North West is dressed, I do think that we should let teenagers express themselves, whether we like what they wear or not.
We all remember what it was like to be a teenager. We might look at old photos and cringe at what we’re wearing, but we were able to find our own style through these past experiments. While we may look back on it with distaste now, our past fashion sense used to mean something to us. By having that time for growth, we were able to figure out what works and doesn’t work for ourselves.
This is what North West is doing as a tween girl except that she is in the public eye. Experimentation is a part of growing up. The only difference is that every move of hers has been monitored since birth.
Some argue that her parents are to blame. They feel as if they should monitor how their daughter dresses. “The Real Housewives of New York City” star, Bethenny Frankel, took to TikTok to defend West as well as Kardashian and Kanye West. She feels as if “no child should be criticized by the media” and that we shouldn’t expect a product of Kardashian and Kanye West to “wear ordinary clothing.”
“Supernanny” star, Jo Frost, disagreed with Frankel, calling out Kardashian and Kanye West for sexualizing their daughter. “You are skirting around the topic, which is do parents play a role in teaching their children how to express their own individual style whilst also not sexually objectifying themselves.”
Kardashian and Kanye West have done many wrongs, but I don’t think that they are at fault here. If parents are too controlling over their children, it makes for a rebellious child. I’m not saying that discipline is wrong, but teenagers should get a say in what they wear. At 12 years old, mommy and daddy should not be picking out your outfits. Being a teenager is hard, but this is where we start to decide how we want to present ourselves to the world.
Maybe it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around since 12 year olds now are different from the 12-year-olds of 10 years ago. I come from the era of Justice and Claire’s. The most makeup I put on was Baby Lips Pink Punch. I was eager to learn how to make my Musical.ly’s look like Baby Ariel’s.
To me, it seems kids are growing up way quicker. Nobody is a tween anymore. There’s a straight jump from childhood to teenager. I couldn’t tell you why that is but…maybe it is that damn phone. I don’t know. My point is that even with her wealth and fame, North West is no exception. At the end of the day, she’s still a 12-year-old girl.
Here’s the bottom line: there is nothing wrong with putting on an outfit. Sure, I may not like how some people dress, but that does not give me the right to bash on them. Maybe they hate how I dress. Either way, we are all entitled to self-expression. Personal style is meant to evolve. Who knows? In another year, North West could make skorts chic again. But for now, this is how she wishes to express herself and it is wrong to scrutinize a 12-year-old girl.
