One of the biggest criticisms that the KarJenners have faced in recent years is their approach to parenting, with fans noticing that there is a stark difference in the way they treat their sons compared with their daughters.
This difference has been chronicled since before the children were even born: Khloé Kardashian received backlash in 2018 when she couldn’t hide her disappointment that she was pregnant with a little girl.
In awkward scenes that aired on her family reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the star refused to even believe that this news was true and made faces as she said, “I’m really hoping they’re going to say they’re lying and I’m really having a boy.”
And when her mom, Kris Jenner, mentioned how much Khloé’s then-partner, Tristan Thompson, would love his little girl, Khloé sniped, “Well, then, I’m going to get jealous. I don’t like that, I don’t like her.”
“Lucky for her girls don't have to be frilly and delicate, and boys don't have to like sports and be rough,” a fan sarcastically pointed out at the time.
And last year, it was Khloé’s sister Kim Kardashian who courted controversy with comments that she made during Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy. Kylie was already mom to a little girl, Stormi, at the time, but hadn't told her family whether she was expecting another daughter or a son.
Speaking on an episode of The Kardashians, Kim told her little sister, “I think it’s a boy,” before claiming that Kylie’s physical appearance while pregnant was the giveaway.
“You’re skinnier this way, you’re prettier than you were last time,” she said. “The girls take the beauty to give it to themselves. The boys know what’s up and they let you be a little prettier.”
Kim’s comment sparked fierce backlash at the time, with one person calling this old-fashioned idea “the start of people bitching about girls rather than boys out of nothing but misogyny.”
Someone else pointed out how problematic this belief is, since it pits mothers and daughters against each other before the daughters are even born.
But Kim’s views seemingly haven’t changed at all in the time since that episode aired, and the star faced renewed scrutiny thanks to comments that she made about her children in this week’s episode of the reality show.
In a conversation with Kylie, the star said that she was taking her 7-year-old son, Saint, and four of his friends on a “soccer tour” around the world because of his love of the sport. In case you didn’t know, Kim is mom to two girls and two boys.
“It’s so fun to be, like, a sports mom,” she added to her sister, but it was what she said in her confessional that really riled viewers up.
“My son Saint has a newfound obsession, love for soccer, so I decided I want to plan this legendary trip of a lifetime,” she began.
“I love my girls, but a girl steals your clothes and has an attitude, y’know?” Kim went on. “There’s nothing like being a boy mom, like, seriously, it’s the best.”
Needless to say, people were left shocked by both Kim’s mindset and the fact that she’d openly shared these views on television, knowing that her daughters could one day see it.
Reacting to the comments on a Reddit forum, one person wrote, “I’m not a typical mom, I’m a boy mom,” to which someone else replied, “i rolled my eyes so hard. ‘girls steal your clothes’ ‘girls have an attitude.’”
“I think she’s more worried about her daughters stealing her spotlight,” one more contributed. Another agreed: “Plus her comment about girls ‘taking your beauty’ when Kylie was pregnant. So bizarre and old school.”
“So much negativity.. hope her daughters don’t hear those kind of comments,” another concerned viewer wrote.
“That was my exact thought,” one user replied. “Saying I love my girls but being a boy mom is the BEST. Yikes?”
“Well what can you expect, in the end she thinks girls are less than boys. Of course being a boy mom is better for her, because deep down she's misogynistic,” someone else claimed.
“Wow Kim, not the boys mom crap… she is honestly the worst. I hope her poor girls won’t hear stuff like that,” one more wrote.
In addition to their comments that show preference for their sons, Kim, Khloé, and Kylie have also been widely accused of protecting their little boys from fame while publicizing and monetizing their little girls from birth.
For example, when Kylie and Khloé welcomed their first babies, who were both girls, they publicly announced their names and shared photos within weeks of their births.
However, when both stars welcomed their first sons last year, they took much longer to share any information about them with the world. In fact, Kylie took nearly a year to share her son’s name, and Khloé waited 10 months.
In a similar vein, Kylie’s 5-year-old daughter, Stormi, is a regular feature on her famous mom’s social media accounts, and her usual companion at showbiz events and photo shoots — even being used to model for Kylie’s baby brand. This is the same for Khloé’s daughter, True, whom Khloé used to promote her Good American fashion line when she was just 1 year old.
While Kylie and Khloé have now revealed their sons’ names and faces, the boys have faced nowhere near as much exposure as their sisters since they were born.
Kim has followed a similar blueprint, with the star crafting public personas for both of her daughters, North and Chicago, shortly after their births, while her sons, Saint and Psalm, barely get a look-in.
North made her Vogue debut at just 8 months old and is often pictured sitting front row at fashion shows with her mom, who leans into her daughter’s cheeky personality in an apparent attempt at branding. Kim is constantly recounting stories that showcase North’s extroverted persona and sharing photos and videos to social media that live up to this.
Chicago appears to be much more shy than her big sister, but fans have noted that Kim regularly draws attention to her looks by constantly calling her her “twin” and even comparing her to her supermodel aunt, Kendall Jenner, at 4 years old.
Interestingly, this is reflective of how the Kardashian/Jenners themselves were raised, with Kylie and Kendall Jenner thrust into the spotlight as part of the family’s reality show when they were just 9 and 10 years old respectively, meaning that they didn’t get to decide for themselves whether or not they wanted to be famous.
Over the years, Kylie has made it clear that stardom isn’t the life she would have chosen for herself and admitted that she doesn’t think she's cut out for the lifestyle. However, she has remained on the show and maintained a huge social media presence.
On the other hand, her mom Kris’s only son, Rob Kardashian, has completely retreated from the spotlight and has been afforded an almost entirely private lifestyle — in stark contrast with his sisters.
