It’s a little odd to me that Sarah demanding Kurt get a ‘Ken doll body’ is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for those people.
I’m not saying it’s not a very valid reason to unfollow, it is. But if these are longterm subscribers as they say, it’s a bit disturbing that they continued to support through donation fraud, the takedown of a small business, multiple cultural appropriation blunders, exploiting ED sufferers, baiting a miscarriage…etc, etc, etc. Sooo, all that was ok, but Sarah saying she wants her brother husband to shape up is unacceptable?
I’m sure there’s something very telling in this about the ways in which followers blindly engage with social media, parasocial relationships, and cognitive dissonance, but at the heart of it all is that Sarah is the absolute scum of the earth.
I agree, it's bizarre. I think about this often with influencers, and even in my personal life. Sometimes it's easier to identify with broad causes, but not the people suffering in your circle. In this case, it's the opposite.
It might be easier to identify with Kurt, a person, and not "impressionable young girls in general" as a people group. Especially if you're super young, or you haven't been exposed to a variety of lifestyles/cultures etc.
Here, there is no defence that Sarah is a business entity to her stans. It's SARAH herself being vile to someone they consider on an equal level to her, and recognize as a person (assuming they don't know what a parasocial relationship is.)
Kurt has a face to them. That's why Sarah ruining Beth's birth also made stans go, holy crap. That was Sarah being a little tit to another human, not Sarahs Day the business entity mismanaging donations, or having someone else style her in culturally insensitive braids. (I'm rolling my eyes as a type that. I'm a POC so when stans weren't bothered I was like ohhh Imma take a step back from lil ms victimhood for a minute) When it comes to idolization, it's easy to think "I'm sure Sarah tried her best. She's a mum, she's young, she obviously cares about health. She makes mistakes just like the rest of us, that's why she's
relatable." No such excuse exists for personally body-shaming your hubby, especially when your brand is at odds with such behaviour.
Anyway, in my experience, what it takes for ANYONE to come to terms with anything problematic probably isn't rational. Otherwise, we wouldn't have these issues in the first place, and vulnerable populations wouldn't be so vulnerable. Look up any anti-mlm story, or instances like Hillsong where people's good faith is manipulated for financial gain. (This is a comment on mega churches, not Christianity btw)
Influencer worship isn't rational, so stans can only come to measured conclusions on their own time, and hopefully find places such as this to educate them. You'll see with some ex-stans, it was just a matter of growing up. Or one thing sticks out, like shaming Kurt's bod, and it gets you thinking.
tell me you're maternal instinct is only for the mom aesthetic, without telling me your maternal instinct is only for the mom aesthetic.
. Love all their vlogs.
