The Art and Expression of Reclaiming Black Bodies
Anna Coogan
The Art and Expression of Reclaiming Black Bodies
Black women have undeniably faced centuries upon centuries of exploitation, persecution and sexual abuse. From the era of colonization and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, females of color have been mistreated and given wrongful stereotypes and reputations because of white western culture. This wrongful objectification of black women has contributed to an entire existence of misrepresentation for all of time. This objectification has translated all the way to the unfair and unwarranted stigmas that have been created surrounding black women in our day and ages’ media such that black women are promiscuous, hyper-sexual and wild. There are many direct and indirect consequences of these stigmas which have affected black women and their lives notably regarding sexual exploitation during the colonization era which progressed into the mistreatment and abuse during slavery. It is through modern and historical art that the story of black women is retold and reclaimed which is present in today's popular culture, hip hop and media to take back black women's body, sexuality and culture. 
Lithograph of Nicolas Huet le Jeune's painting of Sawtche Baartman, 1815.
The ‘promiscuous’ image of black women dates back to the 1700’s and still unfairly impacts black women today across the world. During the late 1700’s, Sarah Baartman was the first known human to become a victim to the world of sex trafficking. Baartman was born in 1789 into the Khoikhoi group on the Eastern cape of South Africa and was likely a servant for her family. Later on, Baartman married a drummer of the Khoikhoi group who was murdered by Dutch men and this led to her eventually being sold into slavery to a man named Pieter Willem Cizer. She was in due course drafted to a contract which required her to work as a domestic servant and entertainer in Great Britain. She was likely forced into prostitution and died from smallpox in 1815. Baartman was hyper-sexualized due to her protruding buttocks and was treated like a zoo animal and was poked, touched and sexually assaulted while on display for the entertainment of white men. Author Mikelle Howard from Black Past emphasizes the long lasting effects of Baartmans mistreatment and what it represents; “... her experience reinforced the already existing and extremely negative sexual fascination with African women bodies by the people of Europe ''.1 Baartman was exhibited for entertainment purposes and ultimately tortured by white European men who treated her as an object. This mistreatment is symbolic for all African women during this time period and represents the objectification they faced and still continue to face. Baartmans legacy as a black woman speaks for all other African women who have encountered mistreatment due to their own physical beauty. Rokeshia Rennè Ashley, assistant professor of communication at Florida International University interviewed 30 African women from South African cities regarding Sarah Baartman and their association with her; if they felt proud or ashamed, resilient or embarrassed.2 The article discusses interviews, responses and recent exposure honoring Sarah Baartman in popular culture. Many of the women felt proud to have similar features to Baartman and felt that they resembled her strength and persistence as an individual and as a Black Woman. The research conducted by Ashley are the steps necessary to reclaim black female power and form a sense of unity among black women.
Efforts to honor and preserve Sarah Baartman's legacy in a respectful and moral way have been in effect for the past 3-4 decades. Beginning in 1944 when Nelson Mandella went forward with the formal request to have Baartman's remains be returned to their rightful place in South Africa, this request was fulfilled in 2002.3 Additionally, there is an exhibit at the University of Cape Town in the Western Cape of South Africa which honors Sarah Baartman. Willie Bester's sculpture of Sarah Baartman was featured in the Ritchie Gallery exhibition Sarah “Saartjie” Baartman, A Call To Respond at UTI during the Fall of 2018. The sculpture is made from steel objects that have been welded together to create her figure. There was a strong debate over whether or not Baartmans figure should be left unclothed as it appeared in the gallery. Some students demanded she be dressed as a sign of dignity and respect while others recognized the importance of Baartmans naked figure and how it represents her legacy.4 In an interview, artist Willie Bester denounces the action of covering up Sarah Baartman's body. “I want it to be uncovered because it was not meant to be covered up,” he says (Bester). To him, concealing Sarah’s body — a body that defies today’s beauty standards — is a step backwards. “You know there is always this thing of what is acceptable. If somebody is too fat or too tall, we tend to hide that person. We don’t want to see (them)”.5 Bester justifies his work of Sarah Baartman as a personal connection to South African culture and the hardships they both faced as Africans. Despite this justification, students still believe that the sculpture should not be displayed in such a manner as it is disrespectful and unfair to her. Bester is a man, therefore from a feminist standpoint this sculpture feels unwarranted and wrongful in the eyes of the student body.This justification enforces the notion of resilience and the reclaiming of the black female body. Baartman’s legacy is carried on and honored in the art created by black artists such as that of Willie Bester for the rest of time. 
Willie Bester's, "Sarah Baartman", Sculpture made from welded steel.
Trans-Atlantic slave trade contributed to centuries of hardships and cruel abuse against Africans who were taken to America. The abuse that has been swept under the rug the most is the ever present sexual assault faced by African American women slaves and was arguably the most differential form of abuse between the male and female slaves. The sexual abuse of black women during the era of slavery only alludes to the false stigma that has been created about black women and their sexuality. They were seen as lustful, promiscuous and dangerous beings which contradicted the image of the white female which was pure, untouchable and light. Thirteen.org highlights the mistreatment of female African American slaves as sexual partners for their slave owners. “For the most part, masters made young, single slaves the objects of their sexual pursuits. However, they did on occasion rape married women… Within the bonds of slavery, masters often felt it their right to engage in sexual activity with black women”.6 The article provides insight to the era of slavery and the unwarranted sexual abuse black women faced on the plantation as a direct result of western ideologies which actively villainized and disbenefitted African American females.
Pop culture and outlets of media have allowed artists to express themselves and make commentary on historical events relating to them and their culture. An example of this type of activism can be seen in Nona Faustines work. Nona Faustine’ White Shoes, 2015 is a series of ten photographs critiquing Americas, New York City’s more specifically shameful past of slavery and slave trade. The images portray Faustine in statue like poses around New York City in places which used to be used for slave trade and slave auctions. Faustine is completely nude other than a pair of small, white heels. The goal of these images is to illuminate the black body and reclaim its beauty from something which stole it centuries ago and has not yet been fully restored. In an interview with Ashley M. Jones and photographer Nona Faustine, the social art pieces are taken apart and analyzed. Jones is curious about the creative process and motives behind the work as a whole; the nudity and significance of the setting. Faustine explains that “oppression and brutality goes hand in hand with the black body but there’s also a beauty there. There’s so much more than sadness in the black body. There’s so much grace, there’s so much strength, there’s so much beauty, there’s so much knowledge”.7 This comparison and description of the black body go hand in hand with that of Willie Bester's justification of his Sarah Baartman sculpture and how that work represents black beauty and why Africans need to reclaim their bodies and cultures to squash the stigmas and stereotypes surrounding black women.
Nona Faustine, "Ar'nt I A Woman" Photograph, 2016.
For centuries, Black women have been overlooked, mistreated and were placed in a box that ignored their beauty, power and strength. This “box” and stereotyping dates back to the 1700’s and the beginning of slave trade. The growth of social media, hip hop and popular culture has created new and creative outlets for African Americans to express themselves and grow a culture which celebrates black beauty like never before. Modern day queens of rap such as Beyoncè and Nicki Minaj are black artists who embrace their bodies and capitalize on their sexuality as black women which inspires the movement of reclaiming black bodies. Additionally, these artists are only a couple among the masses who have kickstarted cultural change for African Americans, in the hip hop industry especially. There is a lot of controversy around hip hop and a lot of it has to do with racist undertones that criminalize black people and black artists. These stigmas around hip hop however ignore the long and unfair history of African American women and their mistreatment. For example, Morgan Klatzman in her essay “Reclaiming the Black Personhood '' dives into great detail regarding the systematic issues that plague black communities and wrongfully convict the culture and faces of the movement which support racist agendas. “In their own narratives, rappers expose a reality of the inner city that disrupts simplified and hyperbolized narratives of urban areas as one-dimensional, crime-ridden, violent neighborhoods, and reasserts the humanity and complexity of inner city Black communities”.8 The reason for statistically higher incarceration and crime rates of African Americans are a direct result of racist systems in America which actively work to keep African Americans at the bottom. The hip hop industry is the latest and most modern cultural movement of African Americans which has served as a catalyst to reclaim their culture, bodies and neighborhoods which have been tampered with and altered by American systems. This process of reclaiming black cultures and bodies has become much more possible and ever present due to the widespread growth of social media and content sharing possibilities. 
Nicki Minaj, "Anaconda Poster" 2014.
For centuries, African bodies have been labeled, abused, policed and tortured because of white and western culture. This mistreatment of black people contributed to chronic misrepresentation in media, history and art. The growth of easily accessible information and more attainable ways of sharing content and work has become a vessel for black culture to flourish and reclaim their bodies as a people. Dating back to Sarah Baartman in the 1800’s and honoring her legacy to Nona Faustine honoring slaves who were auctioned off against their will. Representing these shameful periods of time through powerful and moving artwork is a step in the right direction for taking back black beauty and seeing the black body as a symbol of power and not a symbol of less than whiteness.
“(Sara) Saartjie Baartman (1789-1815)”, Black Past, September 22, 2018. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/baartman-sara-saartjie-1789-1815/.
“How Sara Baartman’s Hips went from a symbol of Exploitation to a source of empowerment for Black Women”, The Conversation, July 15, 2021. https://theconversation.com/how-sarah-baartmans-hips-went-from-a-symbol-of-exploitation-to-a-source-of-empowerment-for-black-women-160063.
“(Sara) Saartjie Baartman (1789-1815)”, Black Past, September 22, 2018, https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/baartman-sara-saartjie-1789-1815/.
“Dignifying Sara Baartman”, University of Cape Town, September 21, 2018, https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2018-09-21-dignifying-sarah-baartman.
Daily Maverick, “GroundUp: Sarah Baartman sculptor speaks out against art censorship”, Accessed October 7, 2021, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-06-05-groundup-sarah-baartman-sculptor-speaks-out-against-art-censorship/.
“The Slave Experience: Men, Women and Gender,” Thirteen, Media with an Impact, Accessed October 5, 2021, https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/gender/history2.html.
“White Shoes”, Pank Magazine, Accessed October 4, 2021, https://pankmagazine.com/2016/01/09/white-shoes/.
Morgan Klatskin, “Reclaiming the Black Personhood,” (Brigham Young University, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 2018), https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1266&context=criterion.
