Before the Paper Magazine shoot what were your thoughts on Kim?
Khaliha: My idea of Kim came from the Kardashian show on E!. I watch the show time to time because I fell in love with Khloé and Scott. Whenever Kim is on the show she seems really nice and professional and just calm… nothing like the way she is portrayed in the media and that always blows my mind because I think that Kim calculates everything that she does and is in everyway a modern businesswoman.
Jenny: Before the shoot, I just sort of thought she was famous for being famous. Kim Kardashian and the rest of her family have done a good job of branding their name and finding opportunities to remain in the spotlight, without really doing anything noteworthy or anything requiring talent.
Morgan: Kim Kardashian is a famous celebrity who uses her beauty and sex appeal to appeal to her wide fan base. Although her success is built on her sexuality, she has worked hard to maintain her status as one of the world’s most famous people and for that I give her credit.
First word that came into your mind after seeing the spread…Go!
Khaliha: Nope! I never made it to the end of the spread.
Jenny: Egotistical.
Morgan: In words of ‘90s music group, “Destiny Child” the magazine spread was bootylicious!
What was your initial reaction after learning about the photo shoot?
Khaliha: I just kept thinking “Why?” I didn’t understand the point especially since you can’t break the Internet.
Jenny: I just thought that Kim was trying to attract more attention. I thought this was a publicity stunt. I’m still pretty sure it was.
After I did some research, I found out that this shoot was more controversial than I could have imagined. The controversy surrounds the photographer of the shoot, Jean-Paul Goude. One of Kim’s photos from the spread was a reenactment of Goude’s piece “Champagne Incident” from his book, Jungle Fever. The original photo is a naked black woman balancing a champagne glass on her rear end, which is largely exaggerated in size. This photo and other photos from Jungle Fever openly exploit the body of black women.
I think it is interesting that Kim chose to reenact this photo, which is openly offensive to black women, just after having a daughter, who is part black, with rapper Kanye West. I doubt Kim even realizes how offensive the image is or how insensitive her actions were in light of her new family situation. Nonetheless, her ignorance is no excuse.
Morgan: I had no reaction. I wasn’t even outraged, shocked or disappointed because the whole world has already seen Kim Kardashian’s various body parts on display. Kim Kardashian has posed naked in a variety of different magazines like W and GQ. Most importantly, let’s not forget her claim to fame with her infamous sex tape with Ray J. Kim Kardashian posing naked has already been done.
Kim has spoken out and said that nudity was not the initial plan and they chose it for artistic reasons. Thinking back to the Miley Cyrus naked Vanity Fair shoot, she also said it was for artistic reasons. Do you think it is valid to legitimize getting naked for the camera by calling it art?
Khaliha: Personally, I think some people want to say that being in the nude is for art because of the backlash and judgment that they get. However, I think the human body by itself is a work of art, think of all of the sculptures of the human body that are shown throughout the world. I think it would have been better for Kim to say she did it because she wanted to. She has a great body, why not show it off.
Jenny: I don’t think Kim Kardashian’s photos were art. With that being said, I do think that nudity has a legitimate place in art. There can be artistic reasons for nudity, but that all has to do with the vision and message behind a piece. Of course, no one would say Michelangelo’s David was obscene. The beauty of the human body offers inspiration for art all the time.
There is clearly a difference though between art and exploitation. No one would argue that a Playboy spread is an artistic masterpiece. And I think Kim Kardashian’s photos liken a Playboy spread more than they resemble one of Michelangelo’s masterpieces.
The spread was said to be photoshopped…how does that fact add to the conversation?
Khaliha: Personally it doesn’t surprise me but it also diminishes the worth of the photographs. They should have kept the stretch marks and the larger waistline and her actual skin tone. That would have been a stronger image and there wouldn’t be any need for an explanation. Maybe then the spread could have been tweeted more than the comet landing.
Jenny: I don’t know of course whether or not the pictures have been photoshopped. If they have been, then I don’t really get the point of baring it all, if she’s not really being honest about her body. Nakedness is such an innocent state, and if she’s having the photos altered in anyway, then she should have just kept her clothes on. She’s hiding her body either way.
Morgan: Then, what’s the point? According to various news outlets, Kim Kardashian has stated that she posed on the cover nude to feel good about herself. A feeling we all want to achieve, but that achievement loses all sense of value with the use of Photoshop to alter your natural body images. In fact, it makes this magazine spread pointless and simply just for entertaining purposes.
What do you think young women learn when they see women taking their clothes off for the camera?
Khaliha: I think it depends on the young woman and the image that is published. I know people who automatically think that women who take their clothes off for the camera are sluts. However, I think that if you see real, unaltered photos of naked women it should empower any young woman to be proud of who they are and what they have.
Jenny: I think young women are definitely affected by seeing famous women reveal their bodies for magazines. These photos portray the message that the female body is a commodity. Kim’s body is what’s selling that magazine. These stunts further contribute to society’s objectification of women.
Morgan: Depending on the style of the photo, women can feel empowered and ready to take on the world or women can learn how to be sexy. The negative reactions of Kim Kardashian’s Paper cover reminds curvy women of the hatred expressed by society over their curvaceous body. This same issue was highlighted earlier this year when Nicki Minaj posed in a thong on the cover of her single, “Anaconda.” The critics went wild and she was objectified in negative way, due to the roundness of her bottom. But yet, when other women with smaller bottoms are plastered over a variety of magazines like Sports Illustrated and Playboy those women are deemed sexy while curvaceous girls are not. These nude photos have a different meaning for every body type, every race and every person. While one picture can inspire many it can also have a negative effect on others.
Kim recently said in an interview, “I love the photos, I did it for me.” What is your response to this?
Khaliha: That’s all that really matters.
Jenny: If the shoot was personal, why publish the photos at all? Paper Magazine was pretty upfront about their motives behind the shoot. The article was even entitled “Break the Internet.” The magazine wanted online hits. They wanted readers. Of course, Kim won’t be this upfront about her intentions and just come out and say that this shoot was for attention, but I think most people know that it was.
Morgan: Making the decision to pose nude and to display your body to the world should only be done to convey an empowering message. It’s great to see that Kim has an immense level of self-confidence, but if you’re posing nude for yourself, display the photo in your bathroom and not on a magazine for millions to see.