We discussed at-length how Sara Baartman was considered an anomaly during the 19th Century. Her large hips, bulbous buttocks and smaller upper-half were considered freakish and out-of-the-ordinary. Our mood as a society has changed. In the spirit of the Super Bowl (Go Pack!) I am inclined to use an example from tonight's game; the Black Eyed Peas are performing at halftime. This is a group that despite earlier successes, launched to fame with a song entitled, "My Humps." This song goes into great detail about the large size of the "lady lumps" of the singer, Fergie. Fergie, who is white, takes a great deal of pride in her large assets, and is certainly now much richer for having them. Using another pop-culture example, last night's Church Lady sketch on "Saturday Night Live" chastised the Kardashians. These are women who share similar traits with Sara Baartman. We place these women on a pedestal and these traits have now become desirable?
Why is this? I'm perplexed as to how, particularly in the last decade, we have gone from a society who called for stick-thin models and diet-crazy regimens, to a world who loves women with a little extra meat. Why is this? Have we as a human race become so increasingly sedentary that we've marginalized those stick-thin women?
No comments:
Post a Comment