WTF: Kourtney Kardashian launches Lemme probiotics brand to turn your vagina into a sweet treat
Evidently on a mission to become the next business mogul of the family, Kourtney Kardashian Barker has launched her very own lifestyle brand Lemme. Following the reality star’s recent highly controversial collaboration with one of the world’s most devious fast fashion culprits Boohoo, it seems as though Kardashian Barker is now on a mission to relaunch herself as a key player within the wellness industry.
According to the company’s website, Lemme is a line of “vitamin and botanical supplements” which use “clinically-backed ingredients and formulations” to help individuals “live [their] best life.” If we’re being completely honest with ourselves, it sounds like every other vitamin and probiotic gummy brand out there—it could’ve practically been copied and pasted from the Goop website.
Some of the products on Kardashian Barker’s site include a debloat digestive, focus concentration gummy and an organic flower elixir that the team have somehow managed to brand as a glorified love potion. All I know is that if I purchase the ‘Lemme Fall In Love’ elixir for $25 and don’t have a date by Valentine’s Day, I’m going to be leaving a scathing review online.
While there’s a number of confusing and somewhat questionable products on Lemme, there’s one in particular that’s creating a pretty volatile stir online.
On 7 February 2023, a Reddit thread began making the rounds. The beginning line read: “Kourtney Kardashian is trying to sell you snake oil pills to turn your vagina into a ‘sweet treat’ at 30 bucks a bottle.”
Now, the product the user was referring to is called ‘Lemme Purr’. In an Instagram post promoting the gummies, Kardashian Barker writes: “Vaginal health is such an important part of a woman’s overall wellbeing (and not talked about enough) which is why we are so excited to launch this. Give your vagina the sweet treat it deserves (and turn it into a sweet treat).”
One of the main claims the Lemme founder makes is that the vitamin sweets can alter the taste of the vagina. Understandably, fans and people with vaginas were incredibly offended. It’s 2023, are we seriously still promoting the idea that women’s genitals need to have a floral odour? Smells like misogyny to me—pun intended.
Societal expectations and male standards surrounding how vaginas look and smell has been a serious source of insecurity and shame for women for decades.
One expert decided to make her feelings clear to the Lemme brand. Dr Jen Gunter, gynaecologist and author of myth-busting bestseller The Vagina Bible, called Kardashian Barker out on Instagram stating, “Anyone who suggests that your vagina isn’t fresh or needs an improved taste is a misogynist and awful person. And yes that includes you Kourtney Kardashian and your Lemme grift.”
Dr Gunter also disputes the belief that pineapples can affect the taste of your bodily fluids. Maddy Dann, 30-year-old A&E doctor told the BBC: “Every person with a vulva or vagina is going to have a different odour, it’s going to have a different scent, a different taste and a different amount of discharge.”
The expert continued: “And so what this product suggests is that every woman needs to have the same tasting, the same smelling, vagina or discharge—and that’s just not realistic.”
It’s perfectly possible for celebrities to create helpful wellness brands that support and champion us—while providing genuine avenues for pursuing a healthier lifestyle. So, why do they instead irresponsibly create products that profit off of our insecurities and subsequently uphold illogical and sexist physical expectations?
