Brianna Wright on "Images of Sara Baartman"

In the piece entitled Images of Sara Baartman, author Yvette Abraham writes about how Sara Baartman's body was used as a tool by British Imperialists to promote the values of this colonialist culture. More specifically, her body was used to paint her as this “hyper-sexual beast” which created the dichotomy between white European women and African/Non-European women. This dichotomy paints the white European women as a “civilized” and “fair country women” versus the African/Non-European women as “savage” and “beastly”.

I thought that Abraham’s perspective on the issue of Sara Baartman was spot-on. By creating this image of a savage African woman, the door for racism and sexism flew wide open and it’s repercussions can be seen today. This promotes racism because this hyper-sexualization creates an image of a “beast” that the European women felt they could separate themselves from, and therefore create this hierarchy between white and black women. This kind of hierarchy has followed white and black women all the way to modern day, which can be seen in situations today. For example, black women today in media are constantly portrayed as sexual, flat individuals without any other complex struggles. However, there are countless examples of white women in media being “pure” or “victims” of some wrongdoing (i.e. Taylor Swift).

This dichotomy also promotes sexism. This is done through the work of anti-abolitionists who were angry with the fact that black men were engaging in relationships with white women. Anti-abolitionists then began to use this image of a “beastly” black women to say that black women were so “savage” that black men didn’t want to engage in relationships with them. This kind o fsexism can also be displayed today. One specific example is when famous rapper A$AP Rocky said that only “fair-skinned” women can get away with wearing red lipstick. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/asap-rocky-beauty-advice-dark-skin-girls-no-red-lipstick-_n_3036873.html )

Overall, I think that this point Abraham makes about black women being used as tools for promoting racism and sexism in society is extremely relevant. I see examples of this dichotomy playing out in everyday life. Personally, I came from a suburb of 75% white people, so the opportunities for white women to fill in the trope of a “fair country woman” is overwhelming.

My question for the class is what examples of this dichotomy do you see in everyday life?