Kim Kardashian has angered both her fans and her critics by sharing a risqué photo of her half-naked self to Instagram and revealing it was captured by her four-year-old daughter, North West.

The image, taken from behind Kardashian, shows the reality star standing in front of a mirror and removing her bra. North can be partially seen in the background holding the camera.

In the photo Kardashian, who recently welcomed her third child via surrogate, is sporting dark locks – she’s currently platinum blonde – suggesting the photograph may be an old one.

Many of her 107 million followers were appalled, accusing Kardashian of poor parenting for exposing her daughter to the sexualised image.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be8V9RCFmMy/?hl=en&taken-by=kimkardashian

“Kim Kardashian now posting topless photos of herself taken by her 4-yr-old daughter. Pathetic & creepy,” British TV host Piers Morgan wrote in a tweet that received 1500 retweets.

Instagram commenters deemed the image inappropriate, irresponsible and weird, and some suggested that if a man had posted a similar photo it would be regarded as a cause for concern.

https://twitter.com/JamieAndNiks/status/961742589165633536

Not everyone was furious, however, with many suggesting it was normal and natural for mothers to be nude in front of their young children.

“How is a little girl getting dressed with her mom child abuse? Would you say that if the mom wasn’t so ‘sexy’?” Twitter user @ingridmarisol contended.

The photo has also amassed over 2 million likes, proving not everyone took issue with its questionable construction.

Andrew Fuller, a Melbourne psychologist, author and expert on child resilience, said he wasn’t too concerned about the photo.

“It’s a back, people!” he told The New Daily. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

While Mr Fuller said Kardashian’s self-exposure might not directly affect North, it could have a formative impact on her behaviour in the future.

“Adults get stressed about these things because they’re thinking with an adult mind, but you don’t realise most of that as a young child,” he explained.

“Four-year-olds look to parents to see what’s normal in the world. A sense of distress won’t be there, but it does set a norm for that child.”

Mr Fuller said he would be more preoccupied with the message Kardashian’s very public persona sends to her young daughter.

“It does say, ‘This is what my public image should look like’,” he said of Kardashian’s provocative Instagram post.

“[It says to North] ‘When you’re out and about you should look this way,’ and it’s very sexualised.”

Kardashian, for her part, is either entirely oblivious to the scrutiny, or unbothered, remaining silent on the matter and instead tweeting about her love for reality singing show The Four.