Sarah Baartman Colonial Exploitation Reinvented

Sarah Baartman's modern legacy understanding how societal pressures, industry expectations, and making bank create contemporary human zoo’s.

Financial success creates volunteered pressure. 

Contemporary Human Zoo’s Sarah Baartman 2025

You may say you understand Sarah Baartman was displayed against her will, which was absolutely wrong. But it's easy to see that as completely different from artists like Sexyy Red and Megan Thee Stallion, who seem to choose to present themselves in a sexual way in their music videos. It looks like they are in control, making lots of money and achieving fame. 

However, the connection people are making is about how societal pressures, industry expectations, and financial incentives influence choices, even when it seems like someone has complete freedom. Societal pressures mean the general ideas and beliefs of a society can push people towards certain behaviors, like the idea that women need to be sexy to be successful. 

Industry expectations are the norms and demands of the music business, which often profits from sexualized images of women. Financial incentives refer to how money motivates decisions; artists might feel pressure to conform to these expectations because it’s seen as the path to financial success. 

So, even though Sexyy Red and Megan Thee Stallion are making their own choices, these outside forces are influencing their decisions more than it appears on the surface, creating a link, to Sarah Baartman's situation where she had no choice.

Human zoos exhibited individuals as spectacles, highlighting their physical differences for entertainment and scientific curiosity. Likewise, some music videos place a strong emphasis on the performers' appearances, sometimes in ways similar to the gaze Sarah Baartman experienced.

Making Bank Under Volunteered Pressure

While artists like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Sexyy Red may choose to present themselves in a sexually expressive way, this choice isn't made in a vacuum. Societal pressures, industry expectations, and financial incentives all influence these decisions. 

The entertainment industry has a history of exploiting and objectifying women, especially women of color. This leads to a preference for certain types of performances that reinforce harmful stereotypes. Even when women appear to control their image, their portrayals often still emphasize sexualization and objectification.

Human zoos were instruments of oppression, designed to dehumanize and exploit black communities. In contrast, modern music videos theoretically offer a platform for artistic expression, potentially challenging societal norms and empowering artists. However, the reality for Black women in the music industry is more complex. 

While they may appear to be making their own choices, they often face volunteer pressure, a situation where financial incentives and industry expectations create a powerful influence, leading to a form of sexual exploitation that, while seemingly consensual, is driven by economic necessity and systemic biases.

Sarah Baartman

Human Zoo Music Video Connection

Human zoos and contemporary music videos share a surprising connection in their portrayal of culture and identity. Both can be seen as a stage where people are displayed, raising questions about exploitation, representation, and the boundaries of art.

Both human zoos and modern music videos showcase Black female bodies for sexual public viewing shaped by power and profit. People compare Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B to Sarah Baartman because all three became partly famous because of their bodies. But Sarah Baartman didn’t have a choice. Hundreds of years ago, she was taken from Africa and displayed in Europe, where people treated her like an object instead of a person.

Today, Megan and Cardi use their bodies in music and videos by choice, showing confidence and making money. The question is, even though they are in control, are they really free from the same old idea of people treating Black women’s bodies as something to stare at and judge? It’s something to think about. The history of the Black female body being displayed for public consumption is a story rooted in oppression and exploitation.

Empowerment or Colonial Exploitation Reinvented

By examining the treatment of Sarah Baartman in 19th-century Europe alongside the current cultural phenomena of Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, we uncover complex truths about the gaze under which Black women’s bodies continue to exist.

Sarah Baartman was a South African woman from the Khoikhoi people. She was taken to Europe in the early 1800s and displayed in human zoos. Europeans gawked at her physique, particularly her ample butt, as an exotic oddity. She was paraded on stages, objectified and dehumanized. She was reduced to a curiosity for scientific purposes and public exploitation.

Sarah‘s body was dissected literally and metaphorically by a society that sought to justify its racist and colonialist ideologies. Even in death, her body was not allowed dignity; her remains were preserved and displayed in a Paris museum until the late 20th century. For Sarah, there was no proper consent and no freedom. Her treatment, unfortunately, was typical in the brutal reality of Black women’s bodies being cash-lucrative and easily controlled.

Contemporary Human Zoo’s

Fast forward two centuries and the curvaceous Black female body image remains central to public consumption. However, the roles of Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B starkly contrast Baartman’s story. These modern artists use their bodies as tools for self-expression and capital.

Their music videos and performances, celebrated for their boldness and audacity, turn what was once a source of degradation into a symbol of empowerment. Songs like WAP and Body emphasize confidence and control. Their lyrics and visuals assert control over how their bodies are seen and interpreted.

While Sarah Baartman was silenced and stripped of freedom, Megan and Cardi attempt to reclaim the narrative, transforming their bodies into a means of financial and cultural power.


Megan Thee Stallion

The Gaze Then and Now

Despite the stark differences in context, one thread remains consistent, the leering gaze. The gaze under which Black women’s bodies are viewed; for Baartman, the gaze was entirely external, dictated by European men who sought to define her body on their terms.

In the modern era, the gaze is more complex. Social media, music, and popular culture amplify the visibility of figures like Red and Cardi, but questions about who controls this gaze remain. These artists are not genuinely breaking free of historical constraints. They are navigating a landscape still shaped by stereotypes and hyper-sexualization.

Lessons for Today’s Girls

For young girls, understanding this historical context is vital. The display of the Black female body has always been tied to power, but who holds it, who wields it, and who benefits from it. Sarah Baartman’s story reminds us of the dangers of exploitation, while Megan and Cardi’s careers show the potential for reclaiming narratives.

The challenge lies in navigating a world where visibility can be empowering and limiting. Today’s girls must ask themselves: Who am I displaying myself for? What does my body say about my identity, and am I the one controlling that message?

The journey from Sarah Baartman to Sexyy Red reflects a broader struggle for self-respect. While progress has been made, the historical weight of objectification still lingers. By understanding these stories, young women will chart a path forward that honors themselves and rejects exploitation in all its forms. This is not just a story of big butts and WAP but a lesson in reclaiming humanity, dignity, and power.