Did You Know? The Shape of African Women May have Inspired 19th Century European Fashion

Originally published on 25 March 2014. Several years ago in the late 1990s, I was flipping through a British fashion magazine which was discussing the science behind the well sculptured dresses; bustles from the Victorian era (1800s) which enhanced women's features especially the bust and the buttocks area. Back then I could not help but observe the striking similarities between the dresses and the physical features of African women; recall that back in the day, the globally 'accepted' feminine shape was that of the waif, glamorised by the fashion industry.

Not long ago, I was reading about Sarah Baartman (who was derided as the 'Hottentot Venus'); what I found completely left me dumbfounded. Around 1811, a Khoisan woman from Southern Africa named Sarah Baartman was brought to Europe on display because of her enormous breasts, genitals and buttocks. Her features caused so much frenzy that even Charles Darwin  alluded that 'the posterior part of the body (which) projects in a wonderful manner' inspired the transformative bustle which seemed to enhance the sexual appeal of the 18th century women. 

Sander Gilman, an American Cultural and Literary Historian, in 1985 also admitted that there was a nineteenth century fascination with Sarah Baartman's behind.

One shocking poem from the 19th Century by Berry Printer, sums it up - it explains how the presence of the Hottentot Venus (Sarah Baartman) overthrew  hitherto perceived notions of art, entertainment and a woman's sexuality. According to him in a ballad;

'The fashionables...are stiring every stump with pads, and hoops... to imitate her rump.

In days of yore.... a sterling English play was then to men of sense a feast, but now a Hottentot's the rage - good Lord, how chang'd is taste!'

While it has been widely reported that the young woman suffered humiliation in the hands of her captors who saw her as nothing more than a creature worthy to be displayed like an animal in a circus, the fact remains clear that although with the racism of the time, she was objectified and relegated to the lowest rung of humans in the evolution ladder, she may have left a more powerful footprint in the social and cultural evolution of Europe. If she inspired the fashion of an era, that implies that her shape was desired and secretly admired by women and men alike. 

This post is part of my series 'Towards a New Media Redefinition of Womanhood in the 21st century'. You can catch the previous one here http://elleafrique.com/jigida-and-the-springs-last-drop-part-1#sthash.I5H4zL6H.lsqABCSS.dpbs or https://teakisi.com/jigida-and-the-springs-last-drop-part-1/?unapproved=179611&moderation-hash=19c8836b4e54f3adb6900601821fe361#comment-179611.

Photo credits: Google