The Tragic Legacy of Saartje Baartman: From Hottentot Venus to Healing
Saartje Baartman, known as the Hottentot Venus, was a Khoikhoi woman born in 1789 in the Cape Colony, present-day South Africa. She was born with Steatopygia (stee·a·tuh·pi·jee·uh), a genetic characteristic causing increased fat tissue in the posterior. Hendrik Cesars (a free black man of enslaved ancestors) and William Dunlop (a Scottish Doctor who worked at a Cape Colony slave lodge) deceptively coerced Baartman to exhibit herself in a freakshow in England under the name Hottentot Venus from 1810 until her tragic death in 1815.
Saartje, who I consider an ancestor of mine, was regarded more as an object than a human and, therefore, experienced exploitation, dehumanization, and disrespect. She wanted, like me, to perform in front of crowds but instead, because of her race and body type, was othered to justify her exploitation. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, othering is treating someone as not part of a group and is different in some way. This perceived difference supports implicit bias and causes artificial division. If one can other another, they can justify their discriminatory behavior, like Cesars, Dunlop, and anyone who came to see and touch Saartje Baartman. It's giving big "they not like us" energy.
The purpose of Saartje Baartman in these freak shows was to be an object of fetishization. I know this experience personally, as I've experienced sexual violence, rape, and assault due to the objectification of my body and my abusers' desire to have power by robbing me of mine. I experienced rape during my first sexual encounter with a man and continuously, through my teenage years and young adulthood, experienced this behavior from women and non-binary folks alike. This experience helped me to understand that sexual violence is about power and has nothing to do with gender. Initially, after experiencing sexual abuse, othering, and objectification, I experienced depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and low self-esteem. The impacts of powerlessness over my body, sensuality, and sexuality empower me to support others in rebuilding their body confidence.
In combination with dance and therapy, a luxury not afforded to my ancestor Saartje, I'm on a path of healing and wholeness. I believe fundamentally that my journey to sexual and sensual freedom is not just to restore dignity to myself but also to my ancestor Saartje. “Please Look but Don’t Touch” is a multimedia project comprising a photo book, interview, choreographed dance, and a photo wall available at RyArMo Studios in Newark, NJ, released on July 4th, 2020. This project aimed to reclaim dignity for myself and my ancestor, Saartje Baartman. As a trained technical dancer and conjurer, I used my modern dance, pole, ancestral veneration, and divination skills to uplift Saartje Baartman in this project and amplify the power of the divine feminine and erotic. It's more than a title; it's a call to do the following:
Abandon prejudices and respect the intersections of identity
Surrender the male gaze for eyes that honor feminine divinity
Have reverence for the power of sensuality and sex appeal absent of objectification
"Please Look but Don't Touch" means see, respect, and don't consume me as you might choke.
Stay Tuned for Workshops shaped around body confidence, self-consent, and empowerment.
BIG THANK YOU to Ryan Monroe of RyArMo Studios and all the artists who are part of the collective and collaborated to make this project possible.
You can schedule a viewing for this exhibition by filling out my contact form.
Click here to Purchase the Coffee Table Book.