Black Women In Entertainment

The purpose of ending slavery was to give black people the independence to have power over their own lives without the authority of White Americans. This independence was capable through constitutional amendments but only to an extent. Without having legal power over black people, White American found different ways of maintaining social control. According to Sociologist Turner, Singleton and Musick, the need for the social controlled system of a caste-like system developed on the basis of prejudice and discrimination against blacks and the legitimated patterns of racial hierarchy in American society. The racial hierarchy has positioned black women at the bottom because they acquire characteristics of two minority groups with reference to race and gender. As a consequence, in society Black women are less likely to have power than White men, White women and Black men. The representation of black women in the entertainment industry by the dominant class works to control the Black women. The entertainment industry has historically been used to support negative stereotypes about black women. …show more content…
Baartman was a South African (Khoikhoin) slave women forced to Europe and displayed at freak shows as a naked entertainer. Her enlarged breast, buttock and hypertrophied labia were put on display for white audiences as she was forced to spread her legs and bend over so paying customers could look and touch similar to the black female slaves at auctions while white owners. Baartman’s stage name was “Hottentot Venus”-hottentot is an offensive Dutch word used to refer to khoisans , which was used to symbolize the abnormality, freakish sexuality to nature and inferiority of the African race. After years of sexual torture and prostitution she died at the young age of 25. Her body was dissected and put on display at a French Museum not until 2002 when it was buried in her