Dark Africa

                     The Brutalisation of the African Venus Sarah Baartman , also known as the " Hottentot Venus ," was a South African woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th century Europe. Born in the late 18th century in the Eastern Cape of South Africa , She belonged to the Khoikhoi ethnic group. Baartman was not a willing participant in her own exploitation. She was taken from South Africa to England and later to France by a British ship's doctor named Alexander Dunlop. He promised her a better life, but instead, she was put on display for the public to gawk at. Baartman's body, particularly her large buttocks and elongated labia, were considered exotic and strange by European audiences. She was forced to perform on stage in a skimpy costume and was even examined by scientists who wanted to study her body. Baartman's treatment at the hands of Europeans was a form of racism and colonialism. She w...