Staci Becker, Post 2

The Venus Hottentot was an eye-opening poem. As I was reading, I didn't understand the historical context behind it. I had heard of the "freak shows" in history, but I did not connect the poem with those shows. Truth be told, I had never really thought about these shows too much. In school we always focused on the slave trade and the prejudice against African Americans. Putting the poem and the movie together completely opened my eyes to this tragedy. I was completely horrified by the suffering of Sarah Baartman. She had very few choices of her own in her life. In a time where people are free to create their own future, this was hard to understand. She had the choice of going to Europe and being exhibited, or staying in Africa and being sold into slavery. I cannot imagine living a life like she did. What really upset me was the fact that even after her death, she found no peace. European scholars used her body and her body parts to justify and "prove" scientific racism. To put the woman's body parts in glass jars instead of burying her in her native land is an insult to her and her people.

What I was confused about was the fact that Sarah was baptized as a Christian woman. How they could justify this is beyond me. As I looked around the room when we were watching the film, I noticed that many other people looked angry, sickened, and disgusted. I will never understand how people could do this to others.