The documentary we watched on Sarah Baartman's life amazed me. I cannot grasp the life that she lived. One of the commentators, when explaining Baartman's court case, said Baartman could either continue to be a part of the freak show, make a small profit and be fed or go back to slavery in Africa. Neither of those options seems appealing in the least bit and personally, I believe Baartman was told what to say in order to make her situation seem better than it truly was. I think Sarah Baartman was put in an impossible situation and was pushed to make a decision that forever changed her life.
Sarah Baartman, better known as "The Hottentot Venus," was taken away from her homeland and she was forced to be nude and show off what made her unique. This seems humiliating; instead of embracing what makes her an individual, she was instead her obligations made her strongly oppose it. Sarah Baartman was looked at as a "freak" simply because her body was different. Her enlarged genetalia and large butt classified her as a "freak." When in actuality, she suffered from steatopygia. Steatopygia is prevalent mostly in Khoikhoi women, although men may suffer from this disease as well. Ironically, the Khoikhoi people think of steatopygia as beautiful.
I think in the case of Sarah Baartman, the phrase "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" holds true. Often times the media reflects beauty through skinny, beautiful, unrealistic women. The Khoikhoi people thought that Sarah Baartman's uniqueness made her beautiful. The essence of beauty can often be lost through airbrushed models. Instead, we should embrace the unique traits of an individual. Whether it may be something that the media would perceive as beauty or something that just makes a person different, these characteristics should be fully embraced.
While searching the internet, I found out that Baartman gave birth to two children. These children had to grow up motherless because she was taken away from her family and her home. Her children had to suffer simply because someone found Baartman's unique qualities freak-like.
Here are some websites I found interesting:
1. http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/saartjie.htm
2. http://www.hottentotvenus.com/index2.htm
5.17.2009
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Marika,
ReplyDeletethe subjectivity of beauty is an interesting point that you raise. So many different people see beauty in different ways. In her culture, Sarah Baartman was considered highly desirable and instead of appreciating her for being different and beautiful in her own right, people controlled her life and basically held her captive.
It's really interesting to learn that she gave birth to two kids, you would think that after the first one was born, someone in control of her fate would consider the child in the situation. Not only once, but twice, did people split up a mother and her children for the sake of a profit. What an awful depiction of an aspect of human nature.