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Analysis Of The Book ' London Of 1810 ' Essay

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In 1803, Baartman changed locations, going from being the servant of Pieter to his brother Hendrik Cezar. In London of 1810, it is with Hendrik Cezar that Baartman began her life as Hottentot Venus. The shows consisted of Baartman appearing in, “clothes that emphasized her bottom in order to render her strange and sexual, but not too risqué” (Crais and Scully,73). Also, Natasha Chipembere, assistant professor of English at Medgar Evers College of CUNY, she described the show as Baartman being, “exhibited on a stage two feet high, along which she was led by her keeper, and exhibited like a while beast; being obliged to walk, stand, or sit as he ordered” (7). During the shows, Baartman was dressed in tight brown dresses that suggested nudity, and displayed her buttocks. During these performances, Cezar, who was Baartman “keeper,” also encouraged the audience to grope on Baartman’s body. Hottentot Venus, in the viewpoint of her audience, was an object of fascination that represented African savagery. The dehumanization of Baartman body did not stop at the performances; she also became a subject of scientific studies. The Hottentot woman, that became well known for her deivent body shape throughout Paris and London, has also aroused the curiosity of scientist, specifically, George Cuvier, the, “man of nineteenth-century French science” (Crais and Scully, 131). His work was influential throughout France. He specialized in the science of comparative anatomy, biology, and zoology.
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