Saartjie Baartman, the woman who exhibited for her big buttocks

The history of mankind is full of tragic stories, of testimonies of people who were forced to live in first person the humiliation of the darkest acts of our race.An example of this was undoubtedly that of Saartjie Baartman .An African woman of the Khoikhoi ethnic group, who, after becoming a slave at the beginning of the 19th century, was condemned to be an attraction of fair in the main European capitals.

The cause? Having steatopygia.

Saartjie Baartman, a life of slavery

The existence of Saartjie Baartman would have been very different if one day Hendrik Cezar and Alexander Dunlop did not know they would have noticed her and decided to take her as a slave.The young woman had a normal life with her family, with her family and the rest of her Khoikhoi ethnicity, but these Europeans saw in the figure of Saartjie an opportunity to earn money, a lot of money, if they exhibited it in theaters and venues as a fairground attraction, something that, as we explained in our article on John Merrick, also happened to this young man better known as "the elephant man".

But what did Saartjie Baartman have to attract the attention of European looks and curiosity? Their buttocks It was common for many women of African ethnicity such as African Bushmen and Hoteliers to suffer from what is now known as as steatopygy , which is nothing more than an unusual accumulation of fat in the buttocks, and that the rest of women of any race can also suffer, if they suffer-for example-of morbid obesity.Most of the Khoikhoi women had quite striking buttocks, but the case of this girl was more exaggerated, with which Saartjie, spent about 4 years being exhibited in London, then continue his humiliating journey in Paris.

Saartjie Baartman, the woman who exhibited for her big buttocks

Saartjie Baartman, Wikipedia

The Venus Hotentote

Saartjie was announced in the city of Paris as the 'the Venus Hotentote' .His body was displayed naked so that the public-mostly male-I saw their forms in total detail.The morbidity was so high that they did not hesitate to pay high prices for that simple and rudimentary spectacle.Fortunately, the voices of the abolitionists were soon heard, people who claimed the need to stop that humiliating episode.

And what defense did the "owners" of the slave Saartjie extol? That the girl did it because that was her wish, just as she had left it signed in her contract.A document written in Dutch and that, of course, she did not understand.Finally, and due At constant criticism, the show was closed and "the Venus Hotentote" was sold to a French businessman.

Did Saartjie's humiliation end there? Not at all.It was then that it started if possible, something much worse.I started working on a variety show where forced her to prostitute herself , to go from club to club as long as there were men to pay for her , for that black venus with big buttocks, torn from his own and eternally humiliated.

Saartjie Baartman, the woman who exhibited for her big buttocks

The end of Saartjie Baartman

In this story, as you can already intuit, there is no happy ending.We would have liked to tell you that someone managed to save her and remove her from that world, that those who sold her and took advantage of her were punished, but that was not the case.We lived through a historical period where human rights remained in the emptiness of contempt, so our Saartjie ended his life early.Some sources say that of syphilis, others that of viruel a or even pneumonia, it is not clear.

The fact is that, even after his death he did not find rest.A autopsy was done to subsequently display his body, brain, skeleton and genitals.in the «Musee de l'Homme» in Paris.Alli remained until in 1974, someone had a glimmer of decency and thought it was better to remove them.The only positive detail we found twenty years after this date, when Nelson Mandela asked for the remains of Saartjie Baartman so that, finally, he could find rest in his homeland, from which he never had to be torn away.

What is your opinion on this story? If you are interested and want to know more about it, you can always watch the movie made in 2010 entitled «Venus noire» (Black Venus) by Abdellatif Kechiche.

Saartjie Baartman, the woman who exhibited for her big buttocks

Drawings on the figure of Saartjie Baartman

Image: Priscilla Santana, Marce Bm

Comments

Do you know why the Sugus de pina is blue?

Sugus is one of the most popular brands of chewy candies .Who hasn't eaten a Sugus candy in childhood? They are so well known that the brand has become a common name and with it all soft and square candies on the market are normally designated.The wrapper identifies the flavor of caramel , yellow-lemon, red-strawberry …, But do you know why Pina Sugus is blue? Do you know why Pina Sugus is blue? Many people have asked themselves this question; the blue does not correspond to any flavor nor is it related to the pineapple .Years ago the hoax spread over the Internet that this color in the wrap of the Sugus de pina corresponded to that of the flag of Barbados , which is blue, since that country was the main importer of pines to make candies.This is totally false . According to the portal Verne of the newspaper El Pais , which contacted the current Wrigley company manufacturer of Sugus, the story is different.When they bought the brand from Suchard the packaging was a...

Stendhal syndrome: feel the art to the extreme

Do you feel dizzy, confused and even hallucinations when you enter a museum ? Are you unable to contain the tears when walking through a beautiful city ? Do you blur your vision because of the magnificence of a musical work ? Everyone, or almost everyone, has felt on some occasion how we get goosebumps before art , whatever the genre, but when the symptoms are taken to the extreme we are facing Stendhal syndrome and in Lifestyle we tell you what this psychosomatic disorder consists of. The city that gives it its name This curious disease is also known as Florence syndrome , since the discoverer of the condition, the French Henri-Marie Beyle –author who wrote under Stendhal's pseudonym-, first experienced the symptoms on her visit to the Basilica of the Holy Cross of the beautiful Italian city, at the beginning of the century XIX.In his work Naples and Florence: A trip from Milan to Reggio , he gathers his impressions: «He had reached that point of emotion in ...

The newspaper that transforms into plants. The most ecological in the world!

With the environmental problem so serious that the world is experiencing, it is essential to find quick solutions that allow the world to take a break. Pollution, deforestation of forests, the enormous amount of waste generated and the loss of natural resources are causing alerts by the Earth to act before it is too late. Have you heard about the newspaper that is transformed into plants? Learn more about this great idea! The newspaper that transforms into plants.The most ecological in the world! Have you ever wondered how much garbage? Do you generate a day? It is said that in developed countries a person produces approximately one kilo of garbage per day, and in developing countries between 400 and 700 grams. Very well, now it starts adding up how much garbage you produce in a week, in a month, a year...Pretty true? What if we could reduce the waste we generate? You might not read the newspaper frequently, but surely this idea could be used in other fields as well; T...

Catharina Geisslerin, the woman who vomited frogs. It's possible?

The old medical records are full of incredible stories .Some of them remain a mystery, but most, from today's perspective, it is easy to understand that really was a fraud or of an unknown disease or not considered as such at that time.One of the most curious is that of the German Catharina Geisslerin, the woman who vomited frogs.Is that possible? Catharina Geisslerin, the woman who vomited frogs The case of Catharina Geisslerin occurred in Germany in 1642 .The woman was known throughout the country for the particularity of throw up frogs .The popular belief was that Mrs. had drunk dirty water in which there were tadpoles and that these had become frogs in her stomach or intestinal tract. The woman vomited whole frogs, in some cases alive , especially when she drank milk.For two years he made his exhibition before doctors and famed professors who in spite of being skeptical at the beginning ended up corroborating the facts.However, when a renowned Saxon doctor ...

9 tricks to get the perfect selfie

In Supecurioso we tell you once what the tricks were to get spectacular in a photo.The most current form of portrait is the selfie, a type of image that is already a social phenomenon and that never This is more mastered, so in this article we present 9 tricks to get the perfect selfie. 9 tricks to get the perfect selfie 1.Choose a place neither too bright nor too dark A basic element in any photograph is the lighting.If the light is too intense, we will highlight details of our face that would not even look natural, but that when capturing them in 2D, in photography, they do not favor us.We will also find that if there is little light, the factions will harden and shadows will become quite strange.So the best thing is a intermediate light , neither too strong nor too dim. Also, it is always better to take photographs with natural light than with the illumination of a bulb , since generally change the skin tone and, if it is very zenith , no is flattering .So you...

Junko Furuta: When violence breaks out

Death , violence and suffering, the three words that the human being flees the most, however the stories that contain them mark a imprint difficult to erase by showing us that when we thought that a case of torture was the worst we have ever seen, another even more horrendous arises from the depths darker than a terrible history of outrage and improbability .If you are willing to discover it, know here the terrifying story of the teenager Junko Furuta . The worst near destination Junko Furuta was born in a humble and simple family in the prefecture of Saitama , Japan in 1972, the her parents' expectations were bright regarding Junko's future, as the girl had excellent grades and had great values that many teenagers lack.In addition, he had a lot of friends between schoolmates and neighbors; Despite some of the currents of addiction and addiction that developed in the confusing Japanese of the 70's, the young woman had managed to get rid o...

Unable to stop stealing: kleptoman

We have all heard of kleptomania .We have seen it in movies and we even know mediatic stars that suffer from it, but what do we really know about kleptomania? Can it be avoided? Let's find out more about this disorder and those who suffer from it: the kleptomanians. Unable to stop stealing: kleptomanians The kleptomania is an unstoppable impulse , a disorder that leads the sufferer to appropriate the alien but without his motivation being the get rich or cause evil any.This fact is the barrier that separates the thief who commits small thefts of the person suffering from kleptomania. The kleptomanian is the individual who suffers a psychological disorder that leads to an action repetitive and uncontrolled : make small thefts.Its purpose is not in what I can achieve with that action, but in the action itself. There is no premeditation or planned , just can't control the i mpulso to steal something. Studies among those affected by kleptomania show that...

The heartbreaking Reuters report of the Rohingya crisis, deserving of the Pulitzer 2018

The inability to manage the issue of refugee migratory movements has become as obvious as it is worrying, especially in recent times. The subsequent violation of human rights has moved society , and that is why in Lifestyle we want to give visibility to this tragedy by sharing with you the photographic awareness work carried out by the Reuters agency, in order to denounce the violence suffered by Rohingya refugees fleeing from Burma. The photo report has won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize , one of the most prestigious awards in American journalism, at a time when the need for humanitarian aid is more overwhelming than ever.Therefore, we invite you to approach this problem, both from our hand to expose the basic brushstrokes that you should know, as well as the hand of some of the most impressive photographs of the collection, which reflect with extreme sensitivity the situation of refugees today, covering situations as heartbreaking as the death of a baby or the remains of a burned town....

The amazing friendship between Osiris and Riff, the heroes of Instagram

A friendship between a dog and a rat? Why not? There is no day when we are not surprised with this kind of incredible stories, stories that, strangely enough, are almost always starring in the animal world.In the last weeks you may have stumbled upon the image of these two adorable creatures in your social networks. The reason? Their owners, their human companions, have uploaded an endless number of photos to Instagram with the idea of showing that friendship, that love and love, knows no borders ...nor sizes! Do not miss this incredible story between a dog and a rat. Osiris and Riff, two "giants" to take an example We must recognize it, the life of the rats is really hard .Skillful survivors who must face not only the hostile means of many cities, but also have to fight against the natural repulsion of many humans towards their nature, towards their presence They are usually related to dirt and poor hygiene, hence they always seek to "exterminate them....

Does your ex want you to be friends? Watch out! Science has a theory

If you have recently noticed that your ex has removed you from his Facebook friends, it could be because he has heard about a new somewhat disturbing psychological investigation. Does your ex want you to be friends? Watch out! Science has a theory A study published by researchers at the University of Oakland found that people with "dark" personality traits, that is, those who are generally unpleasant, manipulators and exploiters, they were more likely to be friends with former for practical and sexual reasons. This is how researchers came to these conclusions.First, asked about out of 350 people who gave a lot of reasons to continue maintaining friendship with a former .They divided the reasons into 150 factors that in turn assigned to different categories that included; reliability, sentimentality, pragmatism and sexual access. For example, "I knew how to listen" would go into reliability or sentimentality ; "I could borrow money" would ent...

Lifestyle Libre

Search This Blog