Years ago, people would put two Pringles together to make duck lips. Now, 17-year-old Kylie Jenner has ?inspired a different idea.
A new trend found under the hashtag #KylieJennerChallenge features pictures and videos of teens using shot glasses and bottles to suction their lips until they are swollen in order to make them more pouty and voluptuous, just like the lips of the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star.
This seemingly harmless act of teenagers trying to look more like a celebrity icon has proven to be anything but harmless. Dermatologists are warning against this new trend because those who participate risk serious pain, permanent disfiguration and bruising, ?according to USA Today.
Following the dangerous precedents of 2013’s Cinnamon Challenge and 2014’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, the Kylie Jenner Challenge has racked up hundreds of thousands of videos and photos of teens’ results from participating, many showing severe bruising, cuts and the inability to close ?their mouths.
The Kylie Jenner Challenge came into popular culture fast and hit hard.
But fads like these are nothing we haven’t seen before. Females of all ages are constantly competing with one another in terms of looks, trying to one-up each other and gain more attention from other girls and males alike. People are likely to participate in these trends because they believe it might lead to a more genuine sense of personal satisfaction, causing many people to think, “If Kylie Jenner has plump lips, ?why can’t I?”
The cost at which teens are getting “Kylie-esque” lips is simply too high. Other than the obvious serious health concerns, there are also underlying meanings associated with this trend that many young adults simply ?don’t understand.
In the 19th century, white Americans used blackface and other racist black stereotypes as a source of entertainment. Big lips are traditionally and historically associated with black women, as they are a natural feature for the race. The distortion of black culture was seen as laughable to many, and the idea that blacks were “racially and socially inferior” to whites carried through the ages.
Throughout history, black women were shamed for their looks and tried what they could to achieve more “white girl”-looking lips. What is most concerning, though, is how a physical trait seen as “ugly” or “different” can be sported by a white teenager in pop culture and all of a sudden be deemed “trendy” and “popular.”
Kylie is being praised for the same thing an entire race has been mocked for throughout the majority of history, and that’s something this generation might not understand.
Although Kylie isn’t necessarily advocating for this trend, she isn’t trying to stop it, either. If it were as simple as having a celebrity single-handedly change society’s viewpoints on a subject matter, we’d have far fewer ?problems than we do today.
The Kylie Jenner Challenge has proved to be a dangerous detriment to those who participated. Instead of gawking over her own Tumblr blog, Kylie could put her fame and influence to good use by advocating for young girls’ beauty, just the way they are. Then maybe we’d have fewer problems.
