Hottentot Hip Hop: ASS ASS ASS ASS ASS ASS…

The fascination with the black woman and her backside has been one that I personally remember as a little girl. You always notice the sista with the big booty. It doesn’t matter who she is: The head usher at church, your favorite school teacher, your best friend’s auntie… Vanity really is not a factor when it comes down to THE ASS. The life of Saartjie”sara” Baartman (The Hottentot Venus) is one that barely has a page in our history books yet we see so many black women stand in her place “not knowing”.

She was born a slave in 1790 to a dutch slave master in what is now known as Capetown, South Africa. After being falsely promised fame and wealth, she went to Europe in 1810. It was there that she learned that she was bamboozled and was treated like an animal. She did  achieve fame via the center attraction for a freak show.

Just the sight of her massive buttocks and hips brought in European spectators from all over. She was forced to dance naked while people watched in awe. They would even poke at her body as if she weren’t a human being. She was a part of the Hottentot (Khoikhoi) tribe in Africa. The women of this tribe are known for their massive behinds and thighs as well as their elongated labias (or “apron”).

Her Demise….

Sarah died in December of 1815, at the age of 25, after battling disease and inflammation. She died broke and a prostitute.. There is no happy ending to her legacy. Even through death, she still did not get to rest in peace. Her genitalia, brain, and skeletal remains were  all harvested and dissected by Georges Cuvier.

After running tests on her remains and coming up with a bogus theory, he then boiled the rest of her remains down to the bone. The horror doesn’t stop there. Baartman’s remains were  put on display at Muséum d’histoire naturelle d’Angers in Paris, France until 1974. Even after they were taken off display, her remains were still housed there. Sarah didn’t return home to South Africa to be laid to rest with dignity and respect until after the millennium. That ultimately happened with countless efforts by Nelson Mandela to have her remains returned to her native country. She was finally laid to rest on August 9, 2002.

Sarah Baartman was the first ever vixen. Its crazy because today everyone idolizes the vixen. My question is: If black women knew of her demise would they still choose to be one? I hate to say it but, yes. Why do so many young black women choose to exploit their bodies? This was a woman who was lied to and exploited involuntarily. She wasn’t even looked at as a human being.Today, so many woman knowingly embody what she was all in the name of camera time and cash. Is it worth it?  All I see is ASS, ASS, ASS, ASS, ASS, ASS. And honestly, the concept is WACK.