Kanye West 'abusive' behaviour with Kim Kardashian speaks volumes about patriarchy: Expert

Kanye West leaves no stone unturned when it comes to airing his dirty laundry amid ugly divorce with wife Kim Kardashian.

While the 44-year-old manages to make headlines with his frequent social media antics, experts and columnists at Independent.co.uk have dubbed his behaviour abusive.

"West has been using Instagram as his platform of choice to unleash his grievances against Kardashian, 41, in capital letters, posting about everything from her parenting decisions, to revealing private text messages from her and Davidson, to urging his fans to shout “Kimye forever” at Davidson in public," comments the media outlet, referring to Kanye's ongoing Instagram brawl.

The column adds: "West’s unfiltered posts have gone further than online criticism and shaming. On Valentine’s Day, he showed his 13.9 million followers the truckload of roses he sent to Kardashian’s house – a move he probably considered sweet but was actually a perfect example of love-bombing, a type of behaviour designed to make its subject feel pressure to respond, and one associated with a cycle of abuse."

The father-of-four has been talking not only about Kim, but also ranted about the custody of his children and wife's new boyfriend Pete Davidson.

"West’s erratic behaviour is a major red flag. This self-destructive display is more than just a pass-the-popcorn opportunity to gawp at the messy inner lives of celebrities – it also carries the hallmarks of emotional abuse," asserts the expert.

Speaking about Ye sharing private screenshots with Kim, the columnist explains the act of manipulation that is generally followed in the patriarchal society. 

"It felt as though he was minimising her concerns, couching his behaviour as flattery and employing textbook methods of manipulation to guilt-trip Kardashian to acquiesce to his demands.

"Celebrity or not, West’s conduct speaks to a culture of abuse and manipulation faced by many women daily. Aisha K Gill, professor of criminology at the University of Roehampton, adds that watching West edge closer and closer to abuse in such a public manner while facing no repercussions has shown how social media normalises and, in some cases, even encourages emotional abuse against women.

Prof Gill further adds: “West’s behaviour needs to be called out, in terms of perpetuating sociocultural norms that support and facilitate different types of violence – for instance, the belief that men have a right to control and/or discipline ‘their’ women.

“This feeds into a culture of violence that inevitably makes women vulnerable to violence from their partners,” she explains. “Furthermore, in my opinion it demonstrates how patriarchal values increase the risk of gender-based violence," she concludes.