Kim Kardashian has become more than just a reality TV star over the years, as we’ve seen her start her $4 billion company SKIMS, have four children, get her law degree and take on criminal justice reform cases. All of that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still enjoy a good bikini pic, though, as evidenced by her Instagram page. So how does she reconcile all these different aspects of her life and personality? In the latest episode of The Kardashians, she revealed that it was actually on a visit to the White House that she had a revelation about posting thirst traps.
The SKIMS founder was invited to speak at Harvard Business School about her company and to answer questions from the budding entrepreneurs. Parts of this visit were filmed for The Kardashians, and one scene showed a student asking about how she took ownership of something like shapewear that was considered somewhat “shameful” and made it something that can be “celebrated.” Kim Kardashian responded:
There was a defining moment when I went to the White House, but I had just posted a bikini photo, and I was like, ‘Oh shit, are they gonna look at my Instagram and think I’m so inappropriate?’ But then I was like, ‘When is being me gonna be OK?’ ‘Cause that is what I wanted to do.
Apparently being in a location as prestigious as the White House made her realize that two things can be true — she can want to show off her sexy swimwear on Instagram while also working to make changes that will have a positive impact on people’s lives.
Still, it took Kim Kardashian fighting the urge to be ashamed of her bikini pic to come to that realization, she said, continuing:
I remember feeling shameful of that and then thinking, ‘But wait a minute, I want to still be me. And I actually think that people pay attention maybe more to some of the law stuff and the criminal justice reform stuff that I do because my feed isn’t flooded with just cases and stories about justice reform. And if I could bring in that customer that might just be on there to look at my makeup or my bikini pic, and then they happen to fall into the story, and then they happen to change their heart about something that they maybe never thought they would stumble across on my page, that to me means more than anything.
Kim Kardashian — changing the world one thirst trap at a time!
I do love the sentiment that it’s OK for people, especially women, to embrace more than one side of their personality. Kim Kardashian’s teeny weeny bikini posts don’t mean that she’s not a good mom or that she’s unable to run a successful business.
Authenticity is important to being successful in business, she told the Harvard students, and everybody plays numerous roles in our lives. We shouldn’t be made to feel ashamed of the other hats (or bikinis, as it may be) that we wear. Tune into The Kardashians for more of Kim’s wisdom, with new episodes available to stream each Thursday with a Hulu subscription.