HSY1511 Assignment 3 Semester 1 2024

Paragraph questions.

Answer any two of the following questions in 15-20 lines each (maximum of 250
words per paragraph)

1. Discuss how Sarah Baartman became a symbol of ideas of race held by
Europeans in the 19th century and how this promoted racial and gender
discrimination.

Sarah Baartman, also called the “Hottentot Venus,” was a woman from South Africa.
In the 1800s, Europeans treated her body very badly. They showed her off in places
like London and Paris because they thought her body was strange. They thought
African women were wild and too interested in sex. This made them think they were
better than African people. It was a way to show that white Europeans were superior.
Baartman’s story shows how people were treated badly because of their race and
gender. She was exhibited in London and Paris, where she was displayed as a
curiosity, reinforcing stereotypes of African inferiority and white superiority.
Baartman’s portrayal as a spectacle reinforced notions of racial hierarchy, with
Europeans positioning themselves as superior to Africans.