Representation and Black Womanhood : The Legacy of Sarah Baartman

Sarah Baartman’s iconic status as the 'Hottentot Venus'-as 'victimized' African woman, 'Mother' of the new South Africa, and ancestral spirit to countless women of the African Diaspora-has led to countless essays, biographies, films, interviews, art installations, and research centers, comprising a virtual archive that seeks to find some meaning in her persona. Yet even those with the best intentions, fighting to give her agency, a voice, a personhood, continue to reinforce the outmoded European narrative of her life without asking 'What if we looked at Baartman through another lens?' This collection, the first of its kind, offers a space in which international scholars, cultural activists, and visual artists examine the legacy of Baartman’s life anew. It disrupts iconic, pop-culture narratives to seek an alternative Africanist rendering of a person whose life has left a profound impact on the ways in which Black women are displayed and represented the world over. Cover......Page 1 Halftitle......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Prelude: “I’ve come to take you home”by Diana Ferrus......Page 12 Introduction: Claiming Sarah Baartman,a Legacy to Grasp 1Natasha Gordon-Chipembere......Page 14 Part One: The Archive: Disruptingthe Colonial Narrative......Page 28 One: “Body” of Evidence: Saartjie Baartmanand the Archive 17Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu......Page 30 Two: “My Tongue Softens On That Other Name”:Poetry, People, and Plants in Sarah Bartmann’sNatural World 31Yvette Abrahams / Khib Omsis......Page 44 Three: “Rude” Performances: Theorizing Agency 47Hershini Bhana Young......Page 60 Four: Baartman and the Private: How Can We Look at aFigure that Has Been Looked at Too Much? 65Gabeba Baderoon......Page 77 Five: Placing and Replacing “The Venus Hottentot”: AnArcheology of Pornography, Race, and Power 85Sheila Smith McKoy......Page 96 Part Two: Troubling the “Truth”:Corporeal Representations......Page 109 Six: Writing Baartman’s Agency: History, Biography,and the Imbroglios of Truth 101Desiree Lewis......Page 111 Seven: “I Wanna Love Something Wild”: A Readingof Suzan-Lori Parks’s Venus 121Ilaria Oddenino......Page 130 Eight: “Just Ask the Scientists”: Troubling the “Hottentot”and Scientific Racism in Bessie Head’s Maru andAma Ata Aidoo’s Our Sister Killjoy 137Z’étoile Imma......Page 145 Nine: Staging the Body of the (M)other: The “HottentotVenus” and the “Wild Dancing Bushman” 147Karlien van der Schyff......Page 154 Ten: Under Cuvier’s Microscope: The Dissection ofMichelle Obama in the Twenty-First Century 165Natasha Gordon-Chipembere......Page 172 Notes on Contributors......Page 188 Bibliography......Page 191 Index......Page 200 Machine generated contents note: Claiming Sarah Baartman: a Legacy to Grasp Natasha Gordon-Chipembere * PART I: The Archive: Disrupting the Colonial Narrative * 'Body' of Evidence: Saartjie Baartmann and the Archive Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu * 'My Tongue Softens on the other name': Poetry and People in Sarah Baartmann's Natural World Yvette Abrahams/ Khib Omsis * Coercive Performances: Sarah Baartman and Slaves for Auction Hershini Bhana Young * Baartman and the Private Gabeba Baderoon * Placing and (Re) placing the 'Venus Hottentot': An Archeology of Pornography, Race and Power * Sheila Smith Mckoy * PART II: Troubling the 'Truth': Corporeal Representations * Sara Baartman, Biography and the Modalities of Truth Desiree Lewis * "I Wanna Love Something Wild"-A Reading of Suzan-Lori Parks's Venus Ilaria Oddenino * "Just ask the scientists": Troubling the 'Hottentot' and Scientific Racism in Bessie Head's Maru and Ama Ata Aidoo's Our Sister Killjoy Z'e;toile Imma * Staging the body of the (M) other: the "Hottentot Venus" and the "Wild Dancing Bushman" Karlien van der Schyff * Under Cuvier's Microscope: the Dissection of Michelle Obama in the twenty-first Century Natasha Gordon-Chipembere. "Sarah Baartman's iconic status as the "Hottentot Venus"--As "victimized" African woman, "Mother" of the new South Africa, and ancestral spirit to countless women of the African Diaspora--has led to an outpouring of essays, biographies, films, interviews, art installations, centers, comprising a virtual archive that seeks to find some meaning in her persona. Yet even those with the best intentions, fighting to give Baartman agency, a voice, a personhood, continue to service the general narratives of European documentation of her life without asking "What if we looked at Baartman through another lens?" This collection is the first of its kind to offer a space for international scholars, cultural activists, and visual artists to examine the legacy of Baartman's life anew, specifically finding an alternative Africanist rendering of a person whose life has left a profound impact on the ways in which Black women are displayed and represented the world over"-- Provided by publisher Sarah Baartman's iconic status as the "Hottentot Venus" - as "victimized" African woman, "Mother" of the new South Africa, and ancestral spirit to countless women of the African Diaspora - has led to an outpouring of essays, biographies, films, interviews, art installations, and centers, comprising a virtual archive that seeks to find some meaning in her persona. Yet even those with the best intentions, fighting to give Baartman agency, a voice, a personhood, continue to service the general narratives of European documentation of her life without asking "What if we looked at Baartman through another lens?" This collection is the first of its kind to offer a space for international scholars, cultural activists, and visual artists to examine the legacy of Baartman's life anew, specifically finding an alternative Africanist rendering of a person whose life has left a profound impact on the ways in which Black women are displayed and represented the world over