Who Gets To Be Self-Made?
This week in Kardashian Kulture, Forbes named Kylie Jenner "the youngest ever self-made billionaire" and the Internet predictably plotzed. Fans of the 20 year old pledged loyalty and cash, vowing to raise $100 million and earn Kylie the official B-word. Others argued Forbes was fake news: How can a woman from earth’s most famous clan possibly be “self-made”?
Twitter raged. Talk shows pounced. And big sister Kim doubled-down on the claim, telling Refinery 29, “I know so many people like that [who] haven’t turned out to be as successful as Kylie. If anything, I've seen the complete opposite." Family friend-and fellow Hollywood scion-Paris Hilton agreed on TMZ. “She’s absolutely self-made. She’s killing it,” Hilton said. “She’s a Girl Boss.”
A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Jul 11, 2018 at 7:00am PDT
It’s those two terms, together-“self-made” and “Girl Boss”-that have stoked our collective angst. The classic American Dream has always been coming from nothing, working hard, and getting very rich. It’s the iron in our national blood-from Rockefeller to Rocky to our favorite “bastard orphan,” Alexander Hamilton. What’s tougher for America to swallow is a woman-led version of that tale, which may be why successful female CEOs are called “She-E-Os” or “Girl Bosses.” (Imagine calling Mark Zuckerberg a “He-E-O” or a “boy boss.”)
For maximum exposure and mainstream media accolades, Girl Bosses must succeed while being the “right” kind of femme-one who doesn’t threaten a fragile system built on male power. Girl Bosses are smart and pretty. Girl bosses are feminine and strong. Girl bosses are confident and humble. Girl Bosses make silly faces on Instagram to prove they’re just like you-if only you had their work ethic. That last part is imperative, especially as elected officials insist the poor can be rich, too… they're just too lazy to try.
That’s where this argument snags like cheap pantyhose. Right now, "self-made" is the business world's version of "effortless beauty." It's an illusion, and it hurts. The sooner we acknowledge that, the sooner we can vanquish the Trumped-up American Dream that people should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." After all, many Americans can’t even afford boots, much less the cool Chloé ones that get Instagram likes.
The "self-made" trope is even more important-and even more false-for the Girl Boss ideal, where female founders must be bullish enough to get shit done, but "likable" enough to soothe male investors and appeal to online fans. (Imagine if Elon Musk cared about being liked, especially on social media.)
We pounce on the "Girl Boss" narrative because we want to champion women in leadership positions, and we should, especially when it leads to better working lives. But many revered Girl Bosses-women like Sara Blakely from Spanx, Whitney Wolfe Herd from Bumble, and Emily Weiss from Glossier-have the invisible ace of privilege tucked up their sleeves. Just like Kylie, all are cisgender. Most come from affluence, or at least a childhood where health insurance and daily meals were a given. The original "Girl Boss," Sophia Amoroso had a much tougher road to success, including criminal behavior and illness. But like the rest of the Girl Boss pantheon, she's white, thin, cool, and beautiful.
Does that mean these women have perfect lives? Hell no. Hardships come for everyone, even these brilliant and accomplished moguls. What’s more, privilege doesn’t cancel out talent: Stella McCartney is an incredible designer, even though her father's a legend. Karlie Kloss is a whip-smart entrepreneur with supermodel status. And Drew Barrymore may be a movie star from a Hollywood dynasty, but damn, she makes great makeup.
You can be lucky and hard-working, but when it comes to Girl Bosses, nobody wants to hear it. Calling female entrepreneurs #blessed doesn’t mesh with society’s obsession of powerfully pretty women. Admitting luck, and heritage, primes people for success ruins the feminist fable that mega-babe moguls are just like us… if only we had the discipline and all-important vision board to “manifest” that same success.
No I’m not. I have successful parents who made sure I went to great schools and always provided me with a safety net so I could pursue my ambitions. https://t.co/0Nj7nSF8G0
- roxane gay (@rgay) July 16, 2018
The "self-made" paradox hacks up hard questions: Can anyone with any advantage-race, wealth, beauty, intelligence, athleticism, love-really claim to be "self-made"? Is there a way to acknowledge privilege and still be fully proud of our accomplishments? Is having a brilliant brain or a beautiful face-both major factors of success-anything but luck?
It’s not, and even Dictionary.com says so. Their official definition of “self-made” is “having succeeded in life unaided.” But that excludes everyone…literally. No man is an island, no Jenner is a one-woman show, and no mogul springs fully formed from a capitalist clamshell. Whether it comes from family, friends, teachers, clergy, or even online hype, community support isn’t just an advantage. It’s a mandatory part of success.
Let's be transparent about our origins and advantages, while giving credit for vision, drive, and hard work. Let's acknowledge true achievement can’t happen unless we carve spaces for those who have enough talent, but also not enough chances. Let's vote for elected officials who pledge to educate, value, and enrich all girls, regardless of their zip codes, so they can enter the workforce on more even footing. And let's stop calling Kylie Jenner a “Self-Made Girl Boss” and instead call her the many exciting things she really is: A boss. A billionaire. A beauty mogul.
And also, seriously #blessed.
A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on May 30, 2018 at 10:16am PDT
You Might Also Like
