Kim Kardashian is the Butt of an Old Racial Slur

Jean-Paul Goode’s photo of Kim Kardashian (left) recreated his now famous Champagne Incident photo (right).

Kim Kardashian may have broken the internet with her butt photos taken by Photographer Jean-Paul Goode for Paper Magazine, but writing in The Grio, Blue Telusma has revealed that Kardashian is only “the butt of an old racial joke” and a recreation of his (Jean-Paul Goode) famous ”Champagne Incident” photo from a book entitled: Jungle Fever.

She writes: “There is nothing new or even original about this spread. Renowned French photographer Jean-Paul Goude just dug into his archives, pulled out some of his old favorites and recreated them with reality TV’s reigning It Girl. That’s it.

“At best, these pictures are recycled art, and at worst, they are lazy sensationalism — but innovative they are not.”

Kim Kardashian’s photo subtly evokes the image of Saartjie Baartman

Telusma argues that in the photo, Kardashian subtly evokes the image of Saartjie Baartman. Baartman was, according to Wikipedia, “the most famous of at least two Khoikhoi women who were exhibited as freak show attractions in 19th-century Europe.”

Telusma then contends that: “When I looked at the spread all I saw was a not so subtle reincarnation of Saartjie Baartman – imagery that is steeped in centuries of racism, oppression and misogyny.

“Saartjie was a woman whose large buttocks brought her questionable fame and caused her to spend much of her life being poked and prodded as a sexual object in a freak show.”

So does that make Kim Kardashian a racist? Telusma does not think so. She reasons that Kardashian is probably a victim of her ignorance.

“But something tells me Kim probably has no clue about the cultural and historic significance of what she’s done,” she Telusma. “Instead, she probably just thought it would be cool to do an edgy photo shoot with famous photographer. And many of you have fallen for that oversimplified stance as well.”

Read the original article here: The Grio. And see Kim Kardashian below, in all her glory!

Kim Kardashian in all her glory. Photo credits: Paper Magazine