Have
you heard of Sarah Baartman, known by the derogatory term Hottentot
Venus? She was a young South African woman from the Khoisan people who
was taken to Europe by a British doctor, and paraded and displayed in
the freak shows that were popular at the time. Her body shape - in
particular her large buttocks - attracted a lot of attention.
Sarah died in 1815, but her brain, skeleton and sexual organs remained on display in Paris till 1974. In 2002 President Mitterand responded to the request from President Mandela by returning her remains. Now her story is back in the news as it seems a movie could be made of her story, and Beyoncé may or may not be involved. Rachel Holmes has written a book about Sarah Baartman.
(Photo: A female Hottentot, possibly Saartjie 'Sarah' Baartman, with a disease (steatopygy), which results in a protuberance of the buttocks due to an abnormal accumulation of fat. Watercolour painting.)
(Credit: Wellcome Library, London)
Sarah died in 1815, but her brain, skeleton and sexual organs remained on display in Paris till 1974. In 2002 President Mitterand responded to the request from President Mandela by returning her remains. Now her story is back in the news as it seems a movie could be made of her story, and Beyoncé may or may not be involved. Rachel Holmes has written a book about Sarah Baartman.
(Photo: A female Hottentot, possibly Saartjie 'Sarah' Baartman, with a disease (steatopygy), which results in a protuberance of the buttocks due to an abnormal accumulation of fat. Watercolour painting.)
(Credit: Wellcome Library, London)
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