I never knew this…

I saw this last year ,and it was so educational.It made me take more pride in the way that I dress,and carry myself.

Major propz on this post… I’ve already read about Baartman, but each time I’m still horrified at how she was treated… Or just how Black people were treated at the hands of ignorant and racist whites….

It seems as though we’ve come a long way but then you see stories such as the reporter who was assulted simply because of the colour of her skin….

CL these Black History Spotlight posts are what set you apart from all the other blogs, keep em coming

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I’m glad a black woman had the guts to do such a powerful video. Very educational and insightful. I appreciated CL. I really do. Take heed black women. If we don’t value ourselves, no one else will.

LG

WAKE UP BLACK AMERICA!!!! WAKE UP YOUNG BLACK AMERICA!!!!!

Damn this is deep. I truly feel that what Sarah Bartman went through is equivelent of what the “video vixens” today, are allowing to happen..put on display for the world to see their large asses and tits…

Wow.. i didnt know the story behind this Sarah Baartman…now im even more mad

at how the negative stereotype of the black woman continues to be perpetuated

mainly by our black entertainers..

Educational. BUT, the shit makes me mad every time I see or read something about it. The sista was right. She WAS the first prototypical VIDEO VIXEN. Objectified by White Racists. The damage is frightening and ongoing. Look at today’s videos and societal culture in general. Our sisters are more than just genitalia, more than just pieces of meat. I like the fact that you posted this TODAY. Not just in February when everyone is spoon fed certain “non-threating” info, like how they give us the same ones every year. We’ve been contributing to the world since the world was thought of as a…WORLD. In 2008, let’s TAKE BACK our BIRTHRIGHT as THE CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH. If we’re all made in HIS image, then call us by our names. There is an AWAKENING going on. You still SLEEPIN?

I had never heard of Sarah before. The story and video was cute interesting.

Proof that the obsession of Black women’s bodies is not new and was not a result of hip hop videos.

One major difference now is - we have a choice, and too often choose to reduce ourselves and our people to body parts and purely sexual beings.

CL - Excellent idea to continue to feature the Black History Highlihghts - all of the time.

Angel and CL are doing a good job of highlighting positive role models and giving information. i came across this article in a South African ‘O’ magazine and was moved. it is so important that we all realize and appreciate how far we’ve come. God bless us all.

Whites used a fat ass for laughs now blacks use it for objectification.

In my Black Feminism class we learned about her. It was very disturbing to hear about her “freak show”.

Thank yah soooooo much for posting this!! I had posted info about Sarah on a particular blog and people didn’t know how to act right…Its cool to know that concreteloop is willing to provide something like this that is relevant today (Whether people want to believe it or not). Thanks again in honor of Sarah Baartman!

I studied her in my women of color class. Sad. Our people still have a long way to go.

“she was an alcoholic and the scientists enticed her with alcohol and sweets to pose nude.”

And today they use cocaine, money, and clothes….. Damn shame

It makes me so sad everytime I read about this woman! I wonder how she felt and what was going through her mind in those 5 years she was in London up until her death….

I heard about this story on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. This is a very interesting story that needs to be told to us and our children! I am so glad you will be doing weekly post on African American History.

Whites enticed the Native Americans with alcohol too, and they fell for it, like a bunch of dummies. When are people gonna open their fucking eyes & minds to what’s really going on?!

Thank you for the knowledge…although it’s just made me upset.

this was deep! I knew some of the history but not this much. Thanks for the lesson but now you got me in the office with all these ‘Europeans’ and I’m not feeling all that nice now…lol….i hope that sistah (I forgot her name already) does some more videos…way off track here but her voice reminds me of Sistah Souljah. But anyhow, excellent post CL!!!!

It’s funny I was just reading about this on Black America Web, great article.

I am in tears. I don’t want to dislike these people because I have met some nice ones. I cannot help it sometimes because some of them are ignorant. It is just lack of exposure. Many Africans are well travelled than some westerners. I am one of them. Some whites ask me silly questions about my country in Africa. They ask; “do you see lions running in front of your house?” and I reply, “I would not be alive today If I did.”

This lady was taken from Africa against her will and put on display because of Racism
towards blacks. To suggest she left her homeland in search of Fame is a flat out lie.
This womand is a victim of RACISM. The person that authors this youtube video is guilty
of exploiting ths woman once again. Making up lies because you hate video women and
using this woman’s photos make you just as guilty. It also hurts your argument. Blacks
had no voice with their dispositon when they were taken from their homeland. Even as
you read this comment women from eastern europe and asia are being mislead to live
their countries sold into the sex slavery. How can you compare that to a woman in
america standing is a casting line to be paid 3000 to 6000 dollar a day to appear in a music video that will has the potential to make her famous. Black women like the
author of this video display the same self serving interests that those racist men
displayed when they made that woman a social display. Buffy the Body has become
rich because of her unique body. This woman is just another victim of a racist sociaity. If she was living today she could get rich but like many others she was exploited. If she had been born with 3 legs she would have been placed in a circus.
Have you ever heard of SIde show freaks. Most of them were disformed people that
had very few options but to join the circus. I think in her case she was taken advantage by racist people. You can not confuse that with grown women appearing
in music videos. What about the porn industry? They make billions of dollars while
rap music only grosses 800 million a year. Porn makes billions of dollars and the
stupid author of this video leaves that out of her self serving arugment. She is guilty
of exploting this woman herself. Telling made uf lies about her death and how she
was obtained does not justify your so called cursade for women. It makes her death
seem cheap because you are a liar. Men do exploit women but not in this case and
not in hip hop videos. Try the strip clubs and maybe the sex slave industry.

Great answer to such a trivial question #22, spoken with common sense and tact.

Keep Up the Good Work J.Dakar !!!

We appreciate you, and the information & knowledge that you provide us on a daily basis.

It’s rare for a Black Entertainment Blogs to post educational & political commentary, and I would like you to know sir that this is greatly needed in this day & time.

Thank You for your efforts !

Wow!! I’ve never heard of her until now. Thanks for this bit of history!

I applaud you Angel, this is vital to today’s youth. You can’t save everyone, but you sure have opened some peoples eyes.

They can’t blame hip-hop for this shit! I heard about Sarah Baartman before, but never knew the whole story… very touching and deep. Thank you Concreteloop for displaying these stories, so many of our people do not know the truth! It is sad that Black women are choosing to do this to themselves now!

#23 I feel your argument, indeed Ms. Baartman was taken against her will, possibly under false pretenses, but once she got to Europe where they were using her as a sideshow freak they did use novelties to manipulate her into complying.

The so called video vixens are different in that they WILLINGLY want to be exploited for their shapely bodies, however this is due to misguided notions of what it means to be sexy and the belief that sex equates love, money over integrity, etc….

Bravo for such a great post! I feel like I’m in grad school again. I didn’t know that Mandela was the reason for her being returned home & while I’ve heard her real name, I definitely had forgotten it.

to #23, i think i feel your argument but i think you contradict yourself too. either way men are behind music companies, they direct and select the women for vidoes so men are still exploiting the Buffy’s that are letting themselve be exploited. i hope that made sense what i just said. today both parties are at fault is what i’m saying and despite that neither can be exscused especially when both parties are profitting albeit unevenly.

Damn! No words to describe my feelings about this. But the crazy ish is that like someone said it is still going on today under the name of Flavor of Love, video chicks, etc. We got to do better. SMDH
Good looking out CL.

Good piece…..congrats concreteloop! but watch someone is going to call themselves Hottentot….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4YKA5rF3HU

BUFFY EXPLOITS GUCCI…WHAT A SHAME.

this is my first time finding out about this and it’s so sad; what they did to her. Dede Hunt was on point!!! I loved her words, hopefully this will knock some of them girls in the head. ? Right?

I don’t think you can compare a video model with Baarman because women now openly go to castings to be in the videos, plus a lot men like to see women.Why can’t people get that in their head?They know exactly what they getting into when they appear in the videos.

This post was interesting, didn’t know anything about her until I read it.Good CL!

So deep…. thanks CL for posting this!

Very insightful. while there is nothing wrong with women appreciting their bodies or even modeling or being in videos , this makes you think about how for years women of color have been exploited and used for sexual purposes only. the comparisons with how women of color are treated today is very strong, but the difference is that we as women have a choice to be treated a certain way. we can control our image. the more we give into the male standard (both black and white now) of what they think beautiful is, and allow them to exploit us, then we are just still like Sarah in alot of ways.

#27 You said “Misguided notions” You have no right to decide what a grown person
can do. Doing Porn Videos is a good profession. Working in a strip club is a good
job in comparrion to picking tomatoes or washing dishes. If depends on a person
options. This lady was a slave. She went to Europe and was put on display as a
side show freak. One could suggest that she eat better and lived better as a side show
freak than a slave. She became addicted to drugs not unlike what we see with Lindey
Lohan, Paris Hiltion and Britnety Spears and crack head Any Winehouse. They used
the drugs to manipulate her. They were wrong but back during those times they took
adavantage of many people. Whites were given and some were sold to side shows
when they were born with disfigurements. 4 arms no legs. Many of these side show
oddities that lived during that time were exploited. Promised to be famous only to die
a painful death in a train box car. Midgets, Simease twins, often once found were
sold to the circus by familes. She was a slave. The story is sad but you can not compare here story to that of BUFFY THE BODY. This woman is a millionare
because she has a famous ass. The drug addiction of HoTtENTOt was because
she had money. I put her in the same class of a Amy Winehouse.

What got me is the fact that they basically mutilated her body after her death, to show/try and prove that blacks are closely related to monkeys.

Well you know what I would rather be closely related to a monkey than any other species, they seem to be the ones who have the most common sense. The evolution of man was generated by a white mans theory, but what baffles me is, WE have never seen an ape turn into a man aka a “caveman” in thousands of years.

Where do they come up with this logic of thinking.

I tell my daughter on the regular, you have to strive more, because you were born with two strikes against you……….one being a woman, the other being black.

Be not discouraged black women of the world, but push forward, regardless of the lack of appreciation shown you. Hate has no medicine.

Ben I suppose it depends on one’s value system. Perhaps being objectified but making lots of money to obtain superficial clothes, jewelry and cars are respectable goals to some.

But for the women out there who value respect above everything, such practices would be avoided at all costs.

never heard this before but I am glad that I did! I live in Europe and the locals still stare at us and they want to touch my kids hair and rub their cheeks and this is 2008 so I can imagine what she she went through with them having full control of her. Very sad and it should be a wakeup call.
thanks for posting this

I’m glad to learn something new…THANKS J

Thank you SO MUCH CL for using the popularity of the site to give us insight into our own history! I hope her story echoes to the right ears. Her birth name was beautiful.

So deep, excellent post!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting this. We had to learn about her while I was at Spelman. I think my mom may have told me about her once before then too. On other blog sites when Deelish was mentioned, quite a couple of folks brought up the story of Ms. Baartman - and I was thinking the same thing. I’m just glad ya’ll caught on and posted this so that this message could reach so many! Maybe this will help in the cause for positive change in our image and the way we carry ourselves.

Ben Said:
“Doing Porn Videos is a good profession. Working in a strip club is a good
job in comparrion to picking tomatoes or washing dishes”

Bill Said:
Really ?
Would you encourage your daughter to work in the Porn Industry or at a strip club, instead of McDonanlds ?

I’ve heard of this before and I know there were several books written one that was even like a semi-autobiographical/fictional book about her. What’s sad is that this is the kind of history that should be taught in schools. I’m not disavowing what MLK did, Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman but its more to our history, American and otherwise, than what has been offered in the schools.

very interesting.

dayum…..shorty is mad thick. would sop her up wid a biscuit

Damn, I’m so speechless and really ( for real) in tears…… I can’t even begin to imagine what our ancestors have gone through so that us black women of today no longer have or even need to…… I am truly apologetic for any shame I may have brought upon my ForeMothers

@blk dds evolution doesn’t work that way. you should take a class on it. it’s really interesting. i personally believe in evolution and i believe that ALL men did come from apes. i don’t believe in the bible’s theory b/c i think the bible is metaphorical

but back to the matter at hand, yeah i heard about this woman a long time ago. i think curiosity and ignorance also played a part in this (besides racism). and unfortunately they were able to manipulate Saartjie. i do see how ppl think this is similar to the video vixens- being put on display for your body. i think that if black women want to be in the porn industry or strip, that’s their choice and white women do it too so we can’t make it into a race thing but how many videos show white women practically nude like we see with black/latina women in so many hip hop videos. hip hop shines a bad light on itself so they need to stop complaining about how they’re viewed. they sound like little kids who do something wrong and then say “but what did i do?” yes there is a lot of good hip hop b/c we can’t expect the whole world to see that especially when violence and sex in certain hip hop vids are being highlighted so much. that’s my hip hop rant. anyway i think it’s nice that CL isn’t doing the expected. you’re searching for ppl that not everyone knows about and i think that’s cool

Good upload, but I’m tired when people putting there own race in front but not others, theres only one race = Human Race, and we gotta look after everyone not just us Africans but imo everyone, you gotta extend love n compassion n thats the only way u gonna get some luvin bak. Thats what I don’t understand because when a person is put under these circumstances and you are aware of it n u know how it would feel its funny that the some people choose to treat someone else that isn’t of his race disrespectfully n I’m tired of that. People gotta respect regardless of race/religion u gotta care for everyone imo. Thats how it gotta be. No room for hate. Its 2008.

Perhaps being objectified but making lots of money to obtain superficial clothes, jewelry and cars are respectable goals to some.

That sounds like the majority of Todays youth. We live in a Capatalistic society that
does not give a damn about poor people. You can walk around any major city and you
will see homeless men and women all around you. Casting lines for music video sometimes go around a coner. That is not exploitation. Porn is not exploitation.
These are money making opportunties. We have no right to suggest they should not
do these things based on our belief systems. If were are going to tell women that they should not appear in Music Video then we must also feed and chothe the homeless
women that sleep on park benches right now. I dont see anyone doing that. I do see
a lot women “Hating” on the girls that get pick to get in the video. Oh and men do
the picking because men do the paying.

Exploitiation of women no longer exsist in America. In fact the women make much
more than the men in porn and Strip clubs.

@DD maybe ppl think your kids are cute lol i’m black and i touch my cousins’ hair all the time b/c i think they’re absolutely adorable. and i have a guy friend who loves to touch girls’ hair regardless of the race. he likes to touch my cheeks too. i don’t understand how that can be connected to what this woman went through

wow I did not know any of this. Thanks CL for the information. I’m so glad you continued the black history post because some of the things you post about I did not know.

great post J !!!!!

i never knew about her until today and i agreed with every word of that video! that sister is speaking the truth

Thank you so much J for this entry, i’m a South African woman and know this story. there’s much more stories of this kind

omg!…we did this play in high school a couple of years ago…except we called it Venus Hottentot…exceptional story to say the least

I remember this story. Its a damn shame she had to endure what she did. SMH

My friend and I actually read about this some months ago and were discussing it because we just so happened to be talking about Angel “Lola”. Its so funny how some people are so ignorant and do not realize that in this same day and time we are still EXPLOITING BLACK WOMEN. Look on every major television network. AHEM… “Flavor of Love”.

As a black woman, I feel at a loss for words that with all the opportunities for growth and personal development, some still resort to selling their bodies as a means for cash. I mean to each his/her own and I am not knocking them, but I mean come on, things need to change. Are women nothing more than just an object? Are we not capable of holding intellectual conversations. Or are we just big booty hoes??

It’s very disheartening that we have gotten to this point where much has not changed.
Our ancestors have fought so hard for us to have the right to go to school, for us to vote and just dwell in this world and to have the opportunities that we do and it saddens me that the majority of us have learned nothing. We just sit around lackadaisically as if nothing is wrong. We are the only ones who can change this but first we have to wake up!

No need to hate on a female because she does not mind being looked upon as a money making venture or a piece of meat. My dimensions are comparable to many of the females one may see in a hip hop video. No need to insinuate envy on my part.

It is just that in many black families education is not emphasized, only money. Therefore the men go out on the corner to make fast money and the women-those that can be in videos, go to casting calls. It is all about the ideals instilled in the youth. Some instill the value of money over respect while other household emphasize education and an honest dollar.

oh yea and this is for all the strippers that get drunk and jump they ass on stage!

Thank you for that post. I cried thinking of the degradation and humiliation we (black women) have encountered. Certainly, knowing her story will touch one african american girl in such a way that she will clearly feel prideful about her history and her skin. We wonder why so many black women wear weaves, bleach skin and do so much to disprove our blackness. We have been told for centuries that we are not beautiful, that we can be used, but so seldom loved. So, when we see beautiful black men like Reggie Bush with women like Kim Kardashian, we tend to get angry. Once again, this is confirmation that we are not quite woman enough. But black women, we dont need their confirmation, we are great. When we carry ourselves with pride and dignity and remove ourselves from these degrading circumstances, then we will see the changes. Stay Black, beautiful and fit

#60 Not only are we not woman enough because of our coarse hair texture and varying shades of a deep complexion, but also because of our intense strength. The work they subjected black enslaved women on plantations was almost like what men do on construction sites today: We had to clean out ditches, roll logs and cut down trees for fourteen hours a day. Can you imagine that? White men also said black women were “unrape able” Because of our so called animal like appearance and our “lascivious” sexuality. This has been internalized in all cultures. That is why we are also at the bottom of the totem pole.

As a leading black feminist put it “A bucket of chicken and a good fuck” (that is what black women were reduced to)

For those who take interest in this story, go out and purchase the book ‘The Black Female Body: A Photographic History’ by Deborah Willis and Carla Williams.

how disgusting.

Im so angry that we never learned of this in school.

i very feel badly for her. my heart physically aches

I learned about her in a class in college. This is such an important story to tell an done that not enough people are aware of. As black women we need to look to our past and learn how this influences the present. History has a way of repeating itself and it’s important for us all to understand the history of sex and sexuality and black women in this country. maybe then we can start to truly respect ourselves and value or worth.

Very powerful post & speaker this morning thanks for that!!! I never knew this now I’m going to good Dede because her words are right & exact.

That was extremely powerful. I wish it could be shown to all children. Definitely should be a public service announcement.

I learned about Saartjie in my Anthropology class, according to my Anthropology teacher a lot of racist views and preconceptions started with European Anthropologists and their theory of evolution and civilization. They basically claimed that Europeans were more evolved than Africans and are basically more civilized because they didnt understand the culture of Africans. So basically European Anthropologists closely linked Africans to the hominids (our ancestors gorillas chimps monkeys etc) and said that Africans didnt evolve as much from the hominid species as Europeans. That is why you see the caricatures of black people portrayed as monkeys all the time because of European Anthropologists’ notions. Eventually they corrected their thoughts and studies, but by then the stereotype and the thought is burned in the minds of others that don’t take the time out to read and actually research and study whats’s going on. So if you ever want to shock a racist person who likes to refer to Black people as monkeys bring up the fact that Europeans are related to the Neanderthal, which is a hominid species that they have been trying so desperately to disown. They found Neanderthal DNA in people that live in France.

I wouldnt know any of this if it wasn’t for my Anthropology class.

And they took Saarjtie from her home not because they hated black people but because they viewed Africans as animals and didn’t see them as humans, so they didn’t have respect for them and basically took them when pleased to do Scientitic studies to see whether Africans were less evolved or intelligent by looking at genitalia size versus brain size and comparing it to the brain size of Europeans.

etc…….

#23 She did actually go on her own because she was told that she would become wealthy and famous for showing her body by a man named Hendrick Cezar. She also had to get permission from the governor of the Cape, Lord Caledon. He did grant her permisson but later regretted it after he found out the true purpose of her going to England. She also was part of the side show freaks in the circus once she moved to France. It’s all documented. Just do a little research.

Wow. Very Interesting. You learn something new everyday. Thank You so much! And for those women out there exploiting themselves, we have to do better!!!

I’ve read Baartman’s story several times and each time I wonder….how can you not think white people aren’t inherently evil and selfish?