Kim Kardahsian’s recent photo spread for Paper magazine where she bared her bottom, was crafted to “break the internet” as the cover suggested. Although that feat didn’t happen, it did reignite the world’s obsession with curves just as a legendary yet tragic figure did in the 19th Century.
The “Hottentot Venus” aka Sarah “Saartjie” Baartman, was a woman who was possibly a slave of Dutch settlers in what is now South Africa. The term “hotttentot” was created by the Dutch as a result of the language used in the region. The word is considered offensive by today’s terms. A member of the Khoi tribe, Baartman attracted attention for her large backside, breasts and other features despite her petite frame. (According to published reports, She stood about 4’7).
As a result of her shape, she was placed on display at circus freak shows across Europe. It has been rumored that she was one of two Khoi women who were taken from their native lands to perform for white audiences. Baartman initially worked in Great Britain under curious means later investigated by local authorities. It was determined that Baartman actually came to Europe of her own free will.
She was later sold to a Frenchman, who placed her in similar freak show environments. Baartman, who spoke several languages and was musically talented, performed for large audiences across Paris. However, Parisians soon tired of her act and she was left to scramble for money by putting on her own shows.
There were rumors she fell into squalor and began working as a prostitute to support herself but that has not been proven to be true. Baartman did endure racism and sexism, depicted as abnormal human being and considered nothing more than a zoo animal to patrons and onlookers.
Baartman died December 29, 1815 of an unknown ailment.
French doctors cut her body into pieces, which were preserved and placed display at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris until 1974. South African poet and Khoi woman Diana Ferrus wrote a poem in 1978 referencing Baartman, part of a growing effort to arrange a proper burial for her.
Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould’s The Hottentot Venus book brought global attention to the matter, and then-South African president Nelson Mandela demanded France return Baartman’s remains to her homeland.
It wasn’t until 2002 that France conceded to the request. Some 200 years after her birth, Baartman’s final resting place is in the town of Hankey, atop a hill.
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