Who was Sarah Baartman?
Sarah Baartman was a young South African woman of the Khoikhoi people who, in the early 1800s, was taken from her homeland and brought to Europe under false promises. There, she was put on public display in freak shows and private gatherings, objectified for her body and dehumanized by colonial science and European audiences.
Known cruelly as the “Hottentot Venus,” she became a living exhibit. Men and women paid to gawk, touch, and ridicule her—fetishizing her features, particularly her curves, which Europeans deemed "exotic." Even after her death in 1815, her body was dissected and displayed in a museum in France until 1974. It took over 150 years for her remains to be returned to South Africa, where she was finally laid to rest in 2002.
Why her story matters:
Sarah's exploitation wasn’t just personal — it was systemic. Her life reflects a global pattern of how Black bodies, especially those of Black women, have been commodified, controlled, and erased throughout history. And yet, despite how they tried to define her, her name still lives.
What does she represent today?
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The long history of sexual violence against Black women
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The commodification of Black culture and identity
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The fight to reclaim our image, voice, and power
Why she inspired BLKSTORY:
Sarah Baartman was the moment I realized the world has always tried to write our stories — but never let us tell our own. This brand is our voice. Our protection. Our truth.
BLKSTORY exists so no one else controls the narrative again.