Let her wear lipstick

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Merry Christmas 🎄

A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Dec 26, 2018 at 3:14pm PST

By Olivia Hanna

Kim Kardashian-West has come under scrutiny yet again for letting her daughter, five-year-old North West, wear red lipstick to the annual Kardashian Christmas party. The elaborate all-white Dr Seuss themed party was attended by the Kardashian and Jenner clans as well as other celebrity faces such as Paris Hilton, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen. In true Kardashian style, images from the event were posted on Instagram and Snapchat and people were quick to notice North’s unnaturally crimson hued lips.

People took to their keyboards to criticize the decision, making comments such as “lipstick on a child? Not okay” and “Why does that little baby have lipstick on?” Many commenters also took to defending North and Kim by sharing stories of when they wore lipstick at a young age and pointing out that stores market make-up kits to little girls.

Kim also stated in a tweet that the choice to wear the lipstick was North’s and that it was a special occasion.

It is absurd to people who have no connection to the Kardashian-West family feel as if they have the right to criticise and shame them for such an innocuous choice. We don’t know what goes on behind closed doors and how Kim chose to address North’s decision to wear the lipstick. But Kim is right, it was a special occasion and for North wearing lipstick is a fun and exciting privilege. She watches her family members get ‘glam’ and got to participate in that.

Even if she didn’t just wear the lipstick for a special occasion, what is the harm in it? Some of the Instagram commenters suggested it means North would engage in sexual activity at a younger age. It’s disgusting that some people even imagined that happening. Lipstick and makeup are simply a form of self-expression and don’t need to be sexualized, especially on a little girl.

Kim should be trusted to make the right decisions for her family and, quite frankly, people should stop being so concerned about whether or not a little girl is wearing lipstick at a Christmas party. As Kourtney once reminded Kim, “there are people that are dying.”