Day 14 Beyonce

Dr. Sara DiazWGST 280: Gender, Sex, & Popular CultureGonzaga University

Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman

• 18th Century khoikhoi woman from South Africa, referred to incorrectly as the “Hottentot” Venus.• Taken to Europe as a living “specimen.”• She was put on public display, naked and caged, in both

London and Paris.• She was dissected by the one of the leading biologists of

the day, Georges Curvier.• A post-mortem cast of her body, her skeleton, and her

embalmed brain and genitals remained on display in the Musée de l'Homme in Paris until 1974. • Her remains were finally returned to South Africa in

2002.

Racializing Women’s Worth

•What do McKay and Johnson mean by “pornographic eroticism”?• “Sexual Grotesquerie”?• How does race figure here?•What grammars are at work?•What hierarchical binaries do you see

manifesting in media discourse about white women and women of color athletes?

Beyonce & Grammars of Race

• Distinction between person and brand.• Bell hooks – main argument?• How would she read Beyonce at VMA’s?• Specifics• How would she read ***Flawless?• How does McKenzie read Beyonce?• Silvers?• Bhatti?

IS IT FEMINIST?