Answer to Question #205947 in History for Kwanele

Question

Briefly discuss why Sarah Baartman was symbolic of gender and racial discrimination against 

African women in the 19th century. (10)

Answer 1

In the 19th century, a young woman named Sarah Baartman was shipped to Europe. The woman of South African descent who was symbolic of gender and discrimination would be paraded in circus sideshows, human zoos, and museums.    Later, this woman was forced into prostitution. She died in her twenties, and after her death, scientists dissected her body and reported that this woman had ape-like features. She became a victim of scientific racism after her body remains were displayed in a museum in Paris.