Is Kanye West Right To Protect His Daughters ‘From Playboy’ Or Is He Projecting Is Own Misogny On To Them?
He doesn't want them to end up like Kim.
Sky Cinema | Shutterstock | Instagram Kanye West took to Instagram again in his latest rant against the Kardashian family, this time, many of his posts focused heavily on his daughters and his vow to protect them from the spotlight.
The 45-year-old rapper shared a slew of Instagram posts on September 1 that had fans questioning the way West views his two daughters, North, 9, and Chicago, 4.
In one post, West took a jab at his former mother-in-law, Kris Jenner. "Don’t let Kris make you do Playboy like she made Kylie and Kim do,” he captioned the post, which was featured alongside a screenshot from Kylie Jenner's former assistant and friend Victoria Villarroel‘s Instagram Story.
“Hollywood is a giant brothel. Pornography destroyed my family. I deal with the addiction [and] Instagram promotes it. Not gonna let it happen to Northy and Chicago.”
In a follow-up post, West shared a screenshot of his reply to a text message, hinting that Kim Kardashian does not make the best decisions when it comes to their daughters because of her controversial past.
"Ya’ll don’t have so so over my Black children and where they go to school / They will not do playboy and sex tapes / Tell your Clinton friends to come get me / I’m here,” he wrote.
West is valid in his concerns about his children's image online but his ex-wife has, thus far, shown absolutely no sign that she intends to send her children down a path of nude photoshoots and sex tapes.
If West's fear is that his children will be impacted by their mother's past, how will his history and past behavior shape his kids' lives?
Is he not concerned that his sons will think it's acceptable to shame and abuse their former partners in the media just as he has done to their mother?
While some people agreed with West's worry about his daughters, others were less than impressed with the rapper's clear misogyny that he perpetuates against North and Chicago, especially when compared to the things he's said in the past.
Back in March 2022, West took to Instagram to speak out about North having access to TikTok, sharing a text message he received from rapper The Game, in which he seemingly accuses Kardashian and her family of strategically using North to “trigger” West's protective instincts as a father.
“They’re trying to use North against you,” the text began. “They know that’s your only trigger. They aren’t using the other kids because they aren’t old enough and are pretty much babies. Saint on TikTok wouldn’t trigger you as much because he’s your son and our boys have US in them."
The text continued: "North and Chi pull on your heart strings the most because they are delicate children. They’re girls and we our protectors [sic] due to our knowledge of women being abused in this world."
The narrative that West feels the need to protect North and Chicago, but not his sons, simply because they are young girls reinforces the idea that men are here to be protectors and saviors to women.
While women do experience a staggering number of sexism-based issues and gender-based violence, the idea that it will all go away simply because a man is around to lock them away is horribly untrue.
West has been called out in the past for his fixation on Chicago and North, which many fans have pointed out seems rooted in some obsession to have control over women's appearances, something he's perpetuated against Kim as well.
In February 2022, West reposted photos of Chicago, saying that he felt she looked "too grown." In the photos, originally posted by Khloe Kardashian, it looked as if a face-altering beauty filter had been used on the photo.
West has also rapped about his daughters in a few songs, alluding to the fact that he doesn't feel comfortable with the way they are being raised.
In a feature for a Pusha T track called 'Dreamin of the Past,' West claimed that his "family’s in danger” when he’s not home. "Born in the manger, the son of a stranger/When Daddy’s not home, the family’s in danger.”
In West's 2018 song 'Violent Crimes,' he raps about his fear of North growing up and getting unwanted attention from men. At one point in the song, he expresses his fear that his eldest daughter will develop curves like Kim, and hopes she will dress more like him than her mother to avoid comments from men.
The idea that West feels as if his daughters are some karmic punishment for the way he's treated women in the past is rooted in misogyny. It's an insulting suggestion to wish daughters on men who have behaved badly, and for them to see having daughters as some kind of "retribution."
If having a daughter is some sort of bad karma for treating women badly in their past, then what are sons? Why is there such a stark difference in the first place?
Daughters shouldn't have to carry their fathers' emotional baggage nor should it take becoming a parent to a daughter to realize the dangers of misogyny.
West's fixation on his daughters, which often features him seeing them in a sexualized manner, is rooted in his own feelings toward women, something he's exploited throughout his career. He is projecting his internalized perception of women as sexual objects and worries about how this might impact North and Chicago as they grow up.
Amber Rose, who dated West in 2008, spoke about how she'd been "bullied for ten years," after their 2010 breakup. In 2019, West tried to stop Kardashian from wearing her Met Gala look that year, telling her that “showing off her body” affected his “spirit” and “soul.'
“You are my wife, and it affects me when pictures are too sexy,” he said.
West's behavior toward his daughters, which he disguises as being "overprotective," is only him trying to assert control and dominance over his daughters.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.