“I’D RATHER REGRET DOING SOMETHING THAN REGRET NOT DOING SOMETHING.”–@KANYEWEST
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From Hottentot to Hottie
Said I’m trying to get your clothes off/from what I’m seein’ you look so soft/It’s your body what I’m goin’ off/Say you go ride off, just don’t fall off/Yeah I done had a lot of women they tell me what they can do/but can you show me babe? –Hot Toddy by Usher Raymond ft. Jay Z and Ester Dean
These lyrics are on heavy rotation on U.S. hip hop airwaves. Do you know what a hot toddy is? Of course some people recognize the term as a mixed drink–usually brandy and tea. Just D.U.M.B. Contributing Writer, Tiffany Hobbs digs deeper to find out why the hot toddy is hotter than ever before.
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In 1810, lured away from her home in Africa under the promise of a better life as a worker in America, Sara Baartman became subjected to the voyeurism of a blood thirsty people, set out to mistreat and exploit the casing of a woman so eager to be loved and simply SEEN. Her flesh became their play-thing. Her dignity washed away along with her identity by each pair of eyes that gawked at her exhibit. She was put on display for the world to see and discuss her anatomy due to its “difference”. An animal she was, and without the knowledge to escape her 3 walled cage. She was named The Hottentot Venus. Come see her for a nickel.
That was Sara, then. Today, separated by 2 centuries but more in tune than ever, the legacy of the troubled fetishism of the black female physique lives on and strives via more mediums than Sara or her captors, both physical and ideological, could have ever imagined. Today, the damage enacted 200 years ago is just as significant, but a lot more alarming because of those who are now the facilitators of this exploitation. Therefore, the question is raised: what do a people do when their own acts perpetuate such an inflammatory ideal?
If based on events of the present, the answer is to celebrate it.
Nicki Minaj.
Today we call her Fierce or Vixen or Nicki. She covers magazines, appears on our television screens, flows through the ear buds of our mp3 players and is considered to be the barometer of black female sexuality by many who admire, lust after, and/or resent her brazen show of her aesthetic. She is thick-hipped, wide-lipped, extremely small-waisted, and undoubtedly more-than-ample in the rear. She is almost a caricature in her most popularly revered form. A caricature that could double as the twin to those crafted of Sara Baartman by the illustrators present who documented her “showcase”. The women of today WANT to be…hot. They seek the flashing lights, whispers (whether of adoration or otherwise), and exploitative avenues to put their bodies on the public stage. They are agreeable and encourage the gawking, poking and prodding that Sara quickly grew tired of and wanted to escape.
These women have regressed so far back that they can’t even remember how to get ahead, nor do they seem to notice that their current way isn’t do anything but stifling their advancement. Why should they when society works hard to procure their placement in the media so that their images can continue to gain twitter followers, facebook friends and video shoots?
Their loss is not easily recognizable to their eyes, as their rose-tinted glasses have convinced them that their reality is a respectable one. Their intuition and conscience isn’t heard over the sound of those who promise them what they set out to achieve. Sadly, they don’t seem to WANT to hear the truth. And their actions and the public’s response work easily to mold and increasingly damage who’s watching now.
Today’s audience includes everyone of all colors. However, none are more damaged than the spectrum of black women who stand before these modern figurative cages, gripping the bars as they see themselves on display for the world to gawk at. Yet, no matter how many jackets are placed over the shoulders of this day’s Sara Baartman, they continue to toss them aside and happily put on that show, except theirs doesn’t cost that nickel. These women are giving it away at the expense of their dignity.
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