During our discussion about J. Marion Sims today, Jeff mentioned something about how Sims reminds him of Cuvier. Consider this from the Fausto-Sterling reading, regarding Cuvier: "the compliant cadaver laid out before him, now unable at last to resist his deepest probings." It sounds to me like he wanted to do more than just examine Baartman. Now consider this quote from the reading about Sims: "I saw everything, as no man had ever seen before." I cannot help but get these "sexual subliminal messages" from Sims and Cuvier after our discussion - that these men got off on examining these women, and it turned them on. What does the class think?
- Josh Steffen
Josh,
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking some questions based on my observation. To add to this, what parallels can be drawn between not only Cuvier and Sims, but P.T. Barnum as well in terms of his "relationship" with Joice Heth?