Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture (3)

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Synopsis
In this third edition of the classic cultural history of black women’s beauty, Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture, Janell Hobson explores the enduring figure of the “Hottentot Venus” and the history of critical and artistic responses to her by black women in contemporary photography, film, literature, music, and dance.In 1810, Sara Baartman was taken from South Africa to Europe, where she was put on display at circuses, salons, museums, and universities as the “Hottentot Venus.” The subsequent legacy of representations of black women’s sexuality—from Josephine Baker to Serena Williams to hip-hop and dancehall videos, to our favorite pop acts including Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Megan Thee Stallion—refer back to her iconic image. Via a new Preface, Hobson explores the continuing influence of Baartman’s legacy through the contemporary marketization of black women’s bodies; from popular music and pornography to advertising and presidential campaigns. A brand-new chapter analyzes fetishistic spectacles of the black “booty,” with particular emphasis on the rise in cosmetic surgeries, such as BBLs, and the different ways that twenty-first-century subjects have reshaped and redefined their bodies in an emergent global body politic.This new edition of Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture is essential reading for students and researchers, as well those outside of academia interested in the subjects of black women and their beautification efforts.
Copyright:
2026

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
220 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781040391679
Related ISBNs:
9781032638911, 9781040391655, 9781032624136, 9781032638904
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Janell Hobson
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Social Studies, Language Arts
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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