our grasp on the “plot” is slipping

kendall jenner's viral tank top and the disconnect of humanity

i’m sure by the time this is released, we’ll all have heard of kendall jenner’s “viral tank top.” and if you haven’t, well, let me take you on a trip down creativity lane because, oh boy! this is an amazing piece of clothing!

there’s a photo going around of kendall and kylie jenner posing next to each other at a supposed knick’s game. but kendall is in a tank top that the culturally disconnected women of the internet find so amazing and are currently going insane over. spoiler alert: it’s a fucking wife beater or plain—hanes, fruit of the loom—tank top. whatever you call it.

kylie jenner's story

i genuinely don’t know what to say. between everything going on in the world right now (the LA raids, gaza, immigrants being stolen from their homes and families, trump, “black fatigue”) i am so overly exhausted and this was the final straw on the camel’s back. i couldn’t not say anything. and you may be entitled to say one of the things many people in tiktok comments say “this is such a non-issue,” and you’re right, it is. in the face of all the issues going on today, it very much is. but just like a lot of things, it’s not just about kendall jenner or women not knowing what they’re talking about. it’s part of a much bigger issue.

that and this desperately gave me the inspiration to write, so.

as we all know, millions of people have been so invested in celebrities since the beginning. so obsessed with trends, aesthetics, and whatever else keeps us distracted from our horrible lives. and i’ll admit, i’ve seen some great things come from celebrities over the years, things that seemed so cool for the moment it lasted. i’ve been obsessed with my fair share of celebrities too, so i’m not judging. but as of late, we have completely lost that plot. it is no longer about which celebrity we love wears what, or eats what, or does what. this is about a genuine cultural disconnect between the people of our society, and the loss of thinking for ourselves and using our brains.

i won’t sit here and list out which cultures started which trends because right now the last thing we need is to be pitted against one another, that won’t solve anything. and that would take a really long time. but i will say this: learn what the fuck you’re talking about before you just go saying shit. this is not to bash anyone, simply to angrily ask you all to be more mindful from here on out. right now, we—as a society—can not afford to be this stupid.

the only reason this is starting to turn into discourse (and even some skits) over tiktok is because some girls posted tiktoks about “kendall’s tank top” in influencer style without knowing what the hell they were saying.

“oh my god i totally loved kendall’s tank top, so today we’re going to be trying it on. can you believe i bought these off of amazon for $7 a pack? they’re literally boy’s tank tops. such a steal!”

one of them even called the literal brand hanes a dupe. like are you serious? i understand people are born of different social standings and therefore don’t encounter some things as children, and even adults, but there is no absolute way you saw kendall jenner in a wife beater and went “oh yeah, she definitely started this. no one else has ever once done this for years.” like have we just not been seeing any other celebrities specifically 2000s celebrities? (these are most likely not 2000s pictures. i tried my best with pinterest.)

sometimes i genuinely think there is no saving our society and as soon as trump kills us all, there will be nothing left to miss or appreciate because all the things that did make us a great society, now dull in comparison to the absolute stupidity that runs rampant in our society today. don’t even get me started on sydney sweeney or sabrina carpenter. (i haven’t really looked into either also. i don’t care to.)

the cultural disconnect

i wouldn’t be as mad about any of this if the women who were spreading this idea weren’t clearly disconnected from the rest of the world. as in ‘please go touch the earth i’m getting worried’ disconnected. but unfortunately, that is exactly the case. i assume women like this have never once in their life researched—or fully researched—any topic before hopping on the bandwagon as if it was the last ride they’ll ever catch. it’s not just women who are guilty of this, everyone is but in this situation, i’m addressing the ladies.

it is now a genuine belief that everything has to be a trend and needs to have a label. people cannot go one day of their lives without gentrifying something as if it hadn’t been a thing since way before they gained their five seconds of consciousness. everyone is scared to live in a society where things won’t make sense, and sometimes they won’t have names because it simply doesn’t matter. but people are also ignorant and don’t care if they’ve seen something on someone else before, if they feel like it’s something they can get clout for, they’re going to take it and turn it into something completely different. we’ve seen this happen many times before, specifically in the white community. we’ve seen white women take edges and call them “sticky bangs,” we’ve seen it happen with much of aave, and now with this “viral tank top.” there’s been so many examples of this i can’t remember them all, but we know it’s there.

we’re living in a time of mass extinction of empathy. not that it hasn’t already been happening.

the main problem with all of this is: the ignorance, the ability to not care, and have the nerve to get defensive about it.

the people guilty of this don’t think it’s a problem because of:

1. how normalized it is

2. their white cloud blocking their ability to think for themselves, therefore being more prone to being a sheep to “trends”

3. they refuse to research anything and truly understand its meaning/origin

4. their privileged upbringing which leads them to already be disconnected from a lot of things and to feel like they shouldn’t care

5. they’re inability to take accountability or to simply just think for themselves

in all actuality, it boils down to ignorance. and a few other things. tiktok is one of the main breeding grounds for issues like this that i see day-to-day.

one of the most recent examples that i can think of for this is when the terms “fox pretty,” “deer pretty,” “cat pretty,” and “bunny pretty” started to spread. everyone lined up to be judged, wearing their insecurities by asking “what kind of pretty am i?” most people had already decided what kind they were. and you’ll never guess… “deer pretty” took the win. i kid you not, the only difference between any of them was how the person looked or did their makeup. megan fox was an example of “fox pretty,” “deer pretty” would’ve most likely been taylor russell, and so on.

for a second i was just as influenced by that trend, and silly trends just like it, as the people who are still just as serious about them, but then it hit me. why are we comparing ourselves to animals? have we actually become so disconnected from our humanity that we’re forcing animal beauty standards—which don’t exist—onto others? there are so many other things we should be focusing on. yes we have the right to live our lives, but how can you continue living comfortably when your way of living is actively being taken away from you? we can not afford to bury our heads in the ground and call it a bed anymore.

it seems our society has become more and more dystopian and there is not enough talk about it.

the lost art of thinking

it seems that nowadays no one can think for themselves. everyone has lost the ability to depend on their own train of thought and instead of going to friends and family to support your decision, we go to them to make our decisions and call it “getting inspiration.” i know you do this because i do it too, i also watch my friends and family do it. we all have.

one of my friends asked our group chat which outfit she should buy and it made me think: “that’s such a simple conclusion to come to on your own.” but in the nicest way possible. i love my friends, it just so happened to be that her reliance on us to make that decision was what opened my eyes. it dawned on me that if we can’t form our own ideas, make our own decisions, and so much more… what can we do?

with the rise of ai, it seems as if humanity is dwindling down by the second. people are depending on non-human resources now because it’s “easier” when in reality, we’re getting lazier. my brain always recollects the game detroit become human. if you like watching or playing games, it’s a really good one and you should check it out. with each passing day, life starts to look more and more like that kind of media (wall-e, ants, etc.) the media that played a great part in radicalization of many people like me, preparing us for our future. it’s a scary thing especially knowing a great part of our population will follow whoever steps out the shadows as long as that someone gives them a false place to belong. a false sense of duty and hope as well, all because no one can come to their own conclusions anymore. people are believing rumors more than ever, arguing over what they think is right instead of the evidence that is in their faces. it’s madness.

what kind of world is this to raise children in? we claim we want what’s best for our descendants but do we? do any of you? if so, then why do you still stand there? i know it’s hard, i know it’s scary, but do you seriously believe that you can’t be of help. we all can if only we try.

we may be losing the plot now but we can write a new one. we don’t have to watch as our lives burn in front of us, have some anger, some fight, some compassion. anything.

wanting goodness in the world, thriving natural life, and peace for everyone should not be controversial.

thank you for reading,

anais x