Sarah Baartman Was Exploited Because She Had a Big Butt

We have all experienced what it is and how it feels to physically humiliate someone at some point in our lives – at least in adolescence. The woman we will introduce you to today is Sarah Baartman. He spent his entire 26-year life with these bullies..

The life of Sarah Baartman, contains much more than a tragic life story. Baartman was a woman who moved from South Africa to Europe in the 19th century and exhibited there under the name “Hottentot Venus”.

Yes, you heard right; She was a woman who was exhibited in circuses with wild animals. But this wasn’t just an exhibition. This; It was also a symbol of racism, sexism and an attack on human dignity.

Sarah Baartman’s story reveals the dark side of humanity with the tragic events that began immediately after her birth in South Africa in 1789.

This periodthe year of the French Revolution The sad events that Baartman went through show how a person can be ruthlessly exploited just because of the geography and anatomy in which he was born.

Sarah Baartman’s “crime,” Being born into a tribe in South Africa and big hips and genitals was to have. His “discovery,” his transportation to Europe and exhibition, and his subsequent tragic death stand out as one of the dark moments in human history. However, this situation did not and will not end with the exploitation of Baartman’s body even after his death.

Born in 1789 in South Africa, Sarah Baartman belonged to the Griqua Tribe, a subgroup of the Khoikhoi people.

Khoikhoi people.

The young woman’s life entered a sad period when her family lost their lives in the colonial struggle between the British and the Dutch. Losing his family when he was two years old was the first loss he experienced. Meanwhile, Sarah’s life story is that of a black merchant. It evolved in a new direction with the ‘ownership’ of Willem Cezar.

Cezar takes Sarah He started working as a slave on his farm in Cope Town. In her life during this period, Sarah faced the harsh realities of colonial struggles and the slavery system. But despite all these difficulties, the most tragic periods in Baartman’s life had not yet begun.

Hoping to escape from her inhuman life and gain freedom, Sarah’s fate worsened when she was spotted by William Dunlop, an English soldier and physician, while working on the farm.

William Dunlop, He was on duty at this farm in Cape Town. Sarah’s body caught his attention and he thought that her body might attract attention in Europe. With this in mind, she adopted the idea of ​​buying him from the farm and taking him to London. Meanwhile, the promises he made to the young woman were enough to convince Sarah. One of these promises was to research and treat his body.

However, this decision he made will turn him into an exhibition object and to a tragic life story It would lead.

What they went through after being brought to London was completely inhumane.

delicate visual

Sarah, 21, was brought to London for display. First of all, one of the promises the doctor made to Sarah It really is a “subject of research” also took place. But this was quite short-lived and soon he was on display with circus animals.

Sarah Baartman of Khoikhoi origin in London’s Piccadilly district in 1810With his body structure that attracted Europeans, he was exhibited in museums and circuses. In fact, this body structure was a natural feature of Sarah’s tribe; because it was known that Khoikhoi women generally had large hips and genitals.

However, the display practice applied to Sarah in order to attract the attention of European audiences was quite disturbing. While her entire body is covered with tight clothing She was forced to dance with her face painted and jewelry worn. The insults and harassment of the audience during this exhibition made Sarah’s life in London completely unbearable between 1810 and 1814.

This period saw Sarah being bullied not only for her physical characteristics; It also led to the abuse of his cultural identity and inhumane treatment.

A clip from the movie Black Venus.

She became famous in Europe as the “Hottentot Venus”, which was due to the display of her body structure as an object that fit the exoticizing and racist view of Europeans. “Venus”, the goddess of beauty and love in ancient Greek mythology This adjective comes from the word.

His sale to a wild animal keeper in Paris in 1814 is a sad continuation of his story. A wildlife keeper named Reaux continued to exhibit Sarah in the same horrific conditions. At the same time, Dunlop, the colonialist who lured Sarah from the farm with his promises, showing a forged document with Sarah’s signature. He claimed that no brutal treatment was done to him, and indeed he was successful. When this unsuccessful attempt to fight against bullying came to a halt, Sarah turned to alcohol at a young age.

While it continued to be exhibited in Paris, it also began to be sold to white men.

delicate visual

All these things we have written come out of our mouths in a flash, but it is difficult to even imagine how painful it is to experience. Being exhibited in the same cage with a rhinoceros and sitting and standing like an animal according to the orders of its so-called owner dragged him to a point of no return. Because Sarah Due to alcoholism at the age of 26 He said goodbye to life.

You thought everything was over when he died, right? No. Even when he died, the abuse of his body never ended. Less than 24 hours after his death, Napoleon’s doctor, George Cuvier, dismembered his body for examination. His brain and genitals were removed At the Musee I’Homme in Paris It was put on display, then his body was stuffed and taken to the museum in the same way.

early 1950s Griquas Tribe of South Africa He requested that Sarah at least be buried on his land. However, according to French law, this request was rejected on the grounds that all works exhibited in French museums belong to France, and Sarah Baartman’s body continued to be abused even after her death. This remained a dark stain in human history.

Those who want to learn more about the subject Venus Noire can watch the movie.