Sarah Baartman

Sarah Baartman

Sarah Baartman (Afrikaans: [ˈsɑːra ˈbɑːrtman]; c.1789– 29 December 1815), also spelled Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈsɑːrtʃi]), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus, a name which was later attributed to at least one other woman similarly exhibited. The women were exhibited for their steatopygic body type uncommon in Western Europe which not only was perceived as a curiosity at that time, but became subject of scientific interest as well as of erotic projection. "Venus" is sometimes used to designate representations of the female body in arts and cultural anthropology, referring to the Roman goddess of love and fertility. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sarah Baartman has received more than 4,156,855 page views. Her biography is available in 30 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 26 in 2019). Sarah Baartman is the 287th most popular religious figure (up from 353rd in 2019), the 4th most popular biography from South Africa and the most popular South African Religious Figure.

Sarah Baartman was a South African woman who was taken from her home by European explorers and exhibited in freak shows in Europe. She was later brought back to Europe and died there.