Mya Hankes
Literary Theory and Criticism
Professor Frank
Nov 11, 2022
Application #5
For this application it was asked to examine Venus Noire: Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-Century France, and how the commodification of Sarah Baartmann was used for the inflation of French nationalism. Meaning, the usage of her body for both scientific study and public view was with the purpose of making French individuals better about themselves in a historically treacherous time. The Restoration in Europe caused “enormous cultural and political changes that ultimately destabilized social markers such as gender, sexuality, and class” (55). These changes and uncertainties within French civilization are what further pushed the commodification of Baartmann’s appearance. In their fear they were able to use Baartmann as an example of something that posed “anti-Frenchness” and deviancy. In doing this, it validated the emotions that French individuals were feeling at this time while also subjecting back people, specifically women, to a wrongful characterization.
The collective French emotion surrounding Baartmann also comes from the aftermath of the Haitain Revolution, which Mitchell points towards as another reason for the commodification of Baartmann.The revolution caused an age of fear and uncertainty for French individuals which aimed towards black people, in this case Baartmann, as the scapegoat. This is because France wanted to transcend back into a royal society, and part of the transcendent path was slavery and racialization. Specific to Baartmann was that she symbolized “so much of what was perceived as dangerous for French national identity— gender inappropriateness, class transgressions, and miscegenation.” (Mitchell 78). The fear of losing the French royal life and superiority loomed in the viewing of Baartmann. She displayed all what could possibly happen to France if they did not enforce racialization and slavery. In turn, it furthers the commodification of Baartmann for cultural purposes. It maintained the image of French culture that was wanted at that time while also maintaining the disruptive and negative image of black people.
