After doing the readings for Thursday, I was absolutely blown away by what I was reading. The discussion in class helped clear up the few questions I had but I was still in shock. The fact that women of the time, especially African American women, had no rights. I was mostly saddened by her treatment and how she was portrayed. The statement that stuck with me the most from class was the fact that people could rent her out for her to stand, partially clothed at private parties. I agree with a statement made in class that she was a sex symbol to men of that time period because of how she was advertised to the public. Her over sized breasts, bottom and lips made her an odd figure of the time period. Women of this time period were really not supposed to show skin because it was seen as a sign of disrespect, so the Hottentot image was very sexual. According to the Sambo myth, Sarah Baartmen was docile and her promiscuous ways made her seem like she was asking to be viewed by men as a commodity of sex. I disagree with this because the advertisements I found on Google were completely exaggerated. This topic is very controversial and I feel like as a class we could talk about this for the whole semester.
Leslie Walter
Leslie,
ReplyDeleteWhat is perhaps even more shocking is that while Baartman's case is certainly horrific it is not exceptional. As we will learn, there is a well-documented history of medical experimentation on black bodies dating from the eighteenth century to the present.