Pop culture girlies, we’re pretty sure your Whatsapp group chats went *off* on Tuesday morning following Beyoncé's 42nd birthday concert in LA. No, not because Blue Ivy stole the show again, or because Kris Jenner was papped busting her best mum dance moves with Jay-Z. But because finally, the portmanteau we’ve all been waiting to use was given the green light.
That’s right - Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner (or Kylithee, as we’re now referring to them) were captured kissing during the Renaissance show, which confirmed the rumour that had been sweeping the internet for months: the pair were dating.
But while some of us thought ‘how cute’ and ‘I’m happy for them’ others thought… differently.
"KYLIE JENNER DATING TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET???? DEUXMOI CONFIRMED????? this had gotta be a late April fools lol," said one Twitter user. "Wait Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet are fr dating??? I thought it was just a joke wtf," said another. Basically, the tweets were all saying the same thing, which was that (and this is a direct tweet quote): "Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet make such a weird couple omg."
While my initial thought of how silly it is that people want (and expect) others to date those exactly the same as them (from the superficial/materialistic aspect right down to being on the same intellectual/academic level), it quickly developed into more of an annoying itch. That for me - and the majority of women out there - have been scratching for a very long time: those consistent sexist and misogynistic undertones.
At first, comments like these might seem perfectly innocent. But dig a little deeper and consider what they’re actually trying to say. Because why exactly are they such an odd match? What do we actually know about these two? What they’re really saying is: how could he (an indie film heartthrob and presumed intellectual) be dating someone like her (a reality TV star and beauty mogul)?
Over on Reddit they’re not even trying to hide the sexism and snobbery of their comments. Take this one (written even before the kiss): "You really think that Timothée wants to be in a relationship right now? And with Kylie Jenner of all people? You think he would've claimed her by now instead of hiding her for 9 months because he was scared to be seen with someone as low class as her."
I really thought we’d moved past the outdated narrative that when a woman is interested in TikTok, make-up, fashion and beauty, that when she likes (or, in this case, appears on) reality television then that must mean she is ‘dumb.’ It’s also the assumption that, because she fits into such a category she is less than, and that her achievements, career and way of life aren’t as respected or valued than if she were to have pursued politics, tech, science or academia.
Kylie, because she sells makeup and comes from the glossy world of reality synonymous with fast fashion and Instagram filters is, in the eyes of these commentators, lower than Timothée who is stereotyped to be walking around with a copy of The Catcher in the Rye in his satchel, wearing linen trousers and looking like a beat poet.
And that's not me saying that - it's the systemic societal frameworks that have long infiltrated the social and political landscapes. That again, is being echoed amongst the memes, threads, and online narrative that claim Timothée and Kylie shouldn't be together.
Take ‘chick-lit’ for example. Described as “fiction that addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly,” back in the 90s, it referred to novels like Confession of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella or Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding. But there is a problem - readers, writers and publishers have continually criticised the term, rejecting it due to its inherent sexism. In a nutshell, it exists separately from general fiction, and women’s fiction in general. Critics have long said its separation portrays the titles as less than, and boxes the authors and their stories into less esteemed territory. On the other hand, there is no boy-lit genre, but we know that male authors have long tackled the lives of their characters in such a way. Instead, these titles are simply called fiction.
This happens across all facets of life - work created for women by women is seen as ‘frothy and silly’ while work created by men, or consumed by men, is painted in a more serious light.
This could be why Kylie’s own remarkable achievements (that I’d argue she’d need to be pretty smart to achieve) have been entirely overlooked during this discourse.
At just 17, Kylie launched Kylie Cosmetics, which - in just five years - became a billion-dollar business. Her first lips kits sold out in under a minute, and the company currently boasts 25.5 million followers (that's four million more than Timothée's personal account). Yes, she may have come from a privileged family which enabled her to create such an empire, but there's no denying that the woman isn't a grade-A student when it comes to influencing, branding and really knowing her market. Let's be real here, her business literally disrupted and then reshaped the global beauty industry.
Now we get to what we know about Timothée. Who - with an Academy Award nomination under his belt, the fact that he speaks fluent French (even though he's literally half French), and is known for portraying complex characters in independent films - instantly puts him on an intellectual pedestal way beyond anything Kylie could ever achieve, in the eyes of these trolls.
So it’s not hard to see why this whole thing is sexist, then. To put it into simple terms: he is seen as smart because he stars in independent, art-house films consumed by a male audience. She is seen as dumb because she manufactures ‘brainless’ beauty products for a female audience.
Bottom line? The notion that women can't be glamorous and smart is still a very prevalent rhetoric, sadly. Not to mention the irony that society has sculpted the way a woman should look (ahem, we're all actually meant to look like Kylie) but will continue to judge us (because of how we look) for not being smart enough. Oh, and the idea that a person dating someone 'off-brand' is just *completely* out of the question.
Sorry, America Ferrera, but it seems your powerful Barbie monologue just wasn't powerful enough…
Sophie Williams is a Freelance Journalist and Copywriter, covering everything from Fashion to Entertainment to music, Lifestyle and Features. She has interviewed a range of musical artists and authors including Alyssa Edwards, Courtney Barnett, Confidence Man, The Vaccines, Loyle Carner, Gabrielle, and John Niven, and has written for publications like Metro, Reader's Digest, ITV's Woo! and Vice’s NBGA. She is also working on a book for HarperCollins about Taylor Swift, due to be published in 2024.
