Yvette Abrahams writes about Sara Bartman and how her life was spend being exposed among people in London because of her large buttocks and and elongated labia. She was exposed as a show to these people by using factors such as slavery, imperialism, sexuality and race, among others.
The author explains how with the concept of slavery and Sara the British were debating whether ban slavery or not. This goes back to the conception that Blacks were seen as beasts and nothing more than animals which if brought equal into society could become a threat. Throughout the years even if slavery has been banned I believe that people in society still see not only Blacks but minorities as well a threat to society. Like Sara, people who were exhibited in freak shows were portrayed as a beast, a dangerous animal that they had to keep in a cage and leash to be controlled. Even though in reality Sara was just another human being like you and me, she was portrayed as the opposite.
Like it has been known for years, race comes into play when talking about Sara's "astonishing" body. It has always been said that Black women are known for having large buttocks. This was the reason why Sara was so good to be portrayed among the British because of her distinctive characteristic. When we talk about sexuality, we can think about the way Sara was seen and how people are also perceived today. The author mentions that white women were "fair country women" meaning they were virgins and able to control themselves while Black women were seen as "sexualized savages." I believe that in todays society the author is backed up by how social media represents people of different races in relation to sexuality.
The way in which today we are able to see relations to why Sara was exposed like an incredible show is if we look further into social media. Today's generations no matter what race I believe tries to follow the mentality of having a large buttocks to be something astonishing and something that everyone wants. If a Black women does not have a large buttocks then they are criticized by their own for not having that unique feature that sets them apart from everyone. However, through social media and the way I see social media perceives sexuality today is that everyone wants to be on top on sexuality no matter what race they are. I feel like the more someone sexualizes their body in present day the better they feel about themselves due to the social media drive, no matter if they are seen as a "sexualized savage" like Sara was portrayed.
My take away from this article and this topic is if everyone else believes that social media has been driving people of all races to be portrayed more as "sexual savages" and for women to desire the large buttocks that Sara once had and was used as a form of show.
I enjoyed reading your response on Sara. I completely agree race is not really a factor in today's society,as long as you have the factors that a woman "should have" society is pleased with you. I also think that because Africans were in lack on knowledge they were taken advantage of and that's why they complied with the way these men would treat them in these freak shows. Now it's a woman's choice to paint a picture on how they look as an individual and sadly that's appearing to what society wants not how they truly feel.
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