The History of the Exploitation of Black Women

  The History of the Exploitation of Black Women Black gothic is about what black people have endured during and after slavery. Misogynoir and Afro-Pessimism are two important concepts of the black gothic. The life and death of Saartjie Baartman and the Jezebel whore stereotype are great examples of these two concepts because both illustrate what black women experienced and how it still affects them today. Saartjie Baartman was born in 1789 in the Gamtoos River Valley in South Africa. She was the eldest of 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Her mother died before she reached the age of 1 and her father was a cattle drover and hunter. She got her last name from her father which means “bearded man”. Saartjie translates into Little Sara and the diminutive ‘- tjie ’ suffix was used as endearment between loved ones, but also by whites to indicate contempt, belittlement and domination over black people. Dutch colonists murdered her husband when she was sixteen and sold her to Pieter Willem ...