The Hottentot Complex
by Leatha J. Patton

Her name was Saartjie (pronounced Sarkey) Baartman, her first name meaning Little Sarah. She was from the South African Khoikhoi tribe/ethnic group, better known as a Hottentot (picture on the right)—a label deviously concocted by the Dutch which means stutterer. Since they could not fluently manage the language because of the phonetic clicking sound in the enunciation of specific words, the Dutch dismissed it with an arrogance that can be interpreted to mean defeat. Typically, Caucasians place a negative label on anything that is culturally or racially different. Therefore, they are driven to analyze, categorize, then belittle or demean whatever they cannot readily understand or explain. Last but not least, the very large posterior possessed by the Hottentot female has been decided by the Caucasian to be a defect—steatopygia, defined as protruding or abnormal (my emphasis) fatness of the buttocks.

This brings to mind my experience as a much younger woman when one of the Caucasian females in my office considered me shapely, but somewhat swaybacked. My retort was: By whose standards? She immediately retracted her statement and conceded that I had a nice figure. Amusingly, my body was being critiqued by someone with a flat butt. I consider flat behinds a negative, and unattractive, because they add no contour to that area of any garment. In garment construction, the longer the dart whether a bodice, skirt or pair of pants, means less contour. For years, this was the approach in garment construction adopted by U.S. manufacturers, specifically targeting the white female populous and damn everyone else. It was during this time that most Black women found it difficult to find pants, skirts and dresses with a suitable fit. Because there was lack of inclusion concerning the Black female anatomy in this industry, I can recall when sheath dresses and straight skirts crowded their behinds, causing horizontal wrinkles near the waistline. The pants also were cut so severely that the Black female’s derriere lacked room in the crotch area, resulting in discomfort. Again, the target population was not us. Consequently, some Black women thought there had to be something wrong with their bodies, never taking into consideration there just might be something wrong with the construction of the clothing because, again, all body shapes outside the majority population were never included. I am not discussing what my late mother would categorize as an extreme caboose (the Hottentot in the picture), but just an average Black female bottom. My mother often labeled behinds that possessed relatively more than average lift, capable of holding a saucer with a cup of coffee without creating a spill; again, her frequent description of big butts was ‘caboose.’ In defense of Black women, most do not fit the above description, but only a minority are without some lift no matter how slender and that, my friend, is a good thing.

Since steatopygia defines the so-called defective behind, what then do we call the much less prominent, flat butts possessed by countless Caucasian females? (Their male counterpart suffers the same fate.) In its heyday, the non-protruding posterior of the Caucasian female all over Europe adorned the popular bustle (example shown here), a fashion inspired by the Hottentot butt of Saartjie Baartman. It has been said that when the bustle moved, it indicated that the female wearing it had at least some behind. I am almost certain that most remained motionless. Pardon my redundancy, but I still want to know what label can be applied to a body that lacks adequate contour and, therefore, sufficient enhancement in the area of the derriere? In my humble opinion, it is definitely a deficiency.

But, ladies, guess what? My sentiments are not unfounded. Currently, we find the contemporary Caucasian female paying dearly to have contour created where there was once none. Of course, not one of these ladies would dare confess that it is the result of direct envy of behinds the Creator bestowed on African (Black) women. I might add that in the not too distant past, there was a time when our white female counterparts indulged in exercises to keep the behind from having the slightest amount of protrusion which translates to the flatter the better. However, flatness is no longer pretty or even sexy. Of course their choice is approached indirectly, for it is Jennifer Lopez that owns the ideal behind. Imagine that. And so, whereas the bustle was once the fad, now the desire is to have a permanent, pricey, surgically enhanced butt.

Approximately six months ago, I saw a TV special where this Black cosmetic surgeon was charging from $40,000-$70,000 for each butt implant. In cosmetic surgery jargon, these butt lifts are gluteal lifts, gluteoplasty, and gluteal shaping. Any one of these surgical procedures involves harvesting fat from more fleshy areas of the body and replanting it on the buttocks (my emphasis). Your search engine will immediately pull up all you need to know about improving the derriere if you type in those terms; simply key in ‘butt lifts’ or ‘buttock implants’ and come up with equally as much or the same information. Ladies, this is one hot topic. One website revealed that Jennifer Lopez (J-Lo) and even Beyonce have undergone butt enhancement. I cannot validate if these are truths or simply a marketing ploy, but based on my observation, Beyonce must be deranged if that is what she underwent. My question is: Beyonce, to achieve exactly what? The article stated that both celebrities wanted rounder behinds.

However, while this society consistently devalues the Black female, our white female counterpart undergoes injections to make the lips fuller, maintains her tan in tanning salons, and now her behind also matches ours—for almost a total body snatch! (I would venture to say that the boobs in both groups are somewhat similar.) Oh, I’ve got a great idea. Black women were employed to braid the hair of Bo Derek for the movie 10, but there is one hair style they might consider to convert their corn silk. Locks!! They can start wearing locks!!! Thus, they become the complete Black woman, and celebrate their win with R Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly as their victory anthem in a tribute to thorough ethnic adaptation.

On the serious side, I must say, in this particular scenario, that Saartjie Baartman was a female who, although somewhat innocently misguided, was made a complete, metaphorical ass that rivaled the one she personally owned. She toured Europe with her butt on display never to be financially compensated, as had been promised. Instead, exploited by two Caucasian males, she ended up dead at the age of 26 or 27 years—destitute! For the price of admission, Europeans scrutinized her butt in utter fascination while she was daily subjected to being caged like an animal, a freak, clothed in only a sheer all-over body suit, first in England and then in France. It is known that the life of this woman most likely ended sorrowfully from alcoholism and probably syphilis. Some of the records are scanty, but there is firm documentation to validate that her body was turned over to scientists who performed the autopsy. Both her brain and a portion of her genitalia were separately placed in jars of formaldehyde and her flesh then dissolved from her bones but, last but not least, only after retaining for preservation those amazing buttocks. Though she no longer existed as a person, her skeleton and all other aforementioned body parts existed to further exploit Ms. Baartman.

Lastly, the one specific area of genitalia that was separated from her anatomy which had aroused immense curiosity among Europeans while she lived was, after her death, at last on exhibit for them to view. The labia minora is inside the labia majora. In the Khoikhoi and Khoisan culture, the practice among the females was to oil and elongate the labia minora to three or four inches in length explicitly for the sexual pleasure of the Khoisan male (his preference), and is known as the ‘apron.’

Just to provide a brief history. To date, the Khoisan is near extinction for some of the following reasons: wars with the Boers; encroachment of their homes, along the coast that was desirable to Europeans, forcing them to eke out a living in barren lands (e.g., the Kalahari Desert); the Boers used to hunt them for sport. These are some of the atrocities that caused their numbers to dwindle to the few remaining.

For more extensive knowledge on the subject of the Hottentot Venus, please visit the internet. Also read one book in particular, Hottentot Venus by Barbara Chase-Riboud, which is told in an enjoyable novel format. Carefully researched and based on fact, it is very intriguing, culminating with this poor woman’s remains being returned to South Africa as late as this millennium in the year 2002.

Think of it—this young, South African woman, known as Little Sarah, exploitatively advertised and exhibited as the Hottentot Venus, experienced a very unusual, tragically eventful life all because of her butt!

Note: On May 20th, at the time this article was posted, I was not aware that the picture of the Hottentot is actually the one and only famous Hottentot Venus, so I have provided this information for the reader. Folks, that is her!!

Thinking Stuff

The following is something that should make sense to every one of us. It was written by an anonymous individual, but reveals irrefutable wisdom. It is factual that accomplishments are realized in this manner. Therefore, what is an idea but something intangible, created in the mind of the individual to then become tangible as materialized substance. The mind forms ideas that become inventions, a cure for an incurable disease, even a great novel. These began in the minds of their creators as follows:

• There is a Thinking Stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the Universe.


• A thought in this Substance, produces the thing that is imaged by that thought.


• You can form things in your thoughts, and, by impressing your thoughts upon Formless Substance, can cause the thing you think about to be created.

I end with this: We all conciously or unconsciously tap into our inner selves to express whatever it is that we aspire to achieve as we strive to bring our goals to fruition. If our children are taught these principles from an early age, think of all the creativity that can be realized instead of the learning deficit that now plagues the Black community, especially the Black male. The universe is vast and will unfold, but the mind must stay focused on what it desires in order to realize victory.

Un-Nappily Happy/Happily Nappy

By Leatha J. Patton

I have concealed my bad side
That relaxed! Becomes my good side,
As crowned with a precarious pride,
I’m endorsed by society, made bona fide!

Naked, exposed, is being real,
But because of how I’m made to feel
Dictates that I hide by being straight,
That I succumb, adjust, and capitulate.

Good hair/bad hair situations
Possess opposite connotations.
Negative/positive—both are relative,
Engage my mind to debate the superlative.

Historical voyages of slave ships for scores,
Sailed the Middle Passage to American shores,
To continue a diabolical, soul-wrenching trek,
Find sisters head wrapped to the napes of their necks.

Recalling conflicting and desirous memories of the past
While dwelling in a foreign land, a lowly existence, outcast
Faced with present horrors, desperate, mental retreats to roam
In times when intact, beautiful, in possession of a comb!

Once again to more modern times, unhappy times
That finds CEOs profiteering, engineering the rhymes
With rappers compromising for the love of money,
Pimp us! It’s bitch, ho though they know it’s not funny.

Come on, my misled sisters!—if paid, they’re dollars so few,
Gyrating, your buttocks spread for the world to view.
Generating controversy, ridicule, crowned on a throne
Which none other dares ascend: Girl, you’re on your own!

Let’s get real, sisters all, nappy or straight.
Let us scrutinize our state and thoroughly evaluate
Our image—brothers too!—demonized on the world stage,
That will inflame yet another historical page.

Will actions chose obliterate a new and brighter day?
Black America, can we discover and direct a better way
To heighten our aspirations, or do we opt to seal our fate?
Aim high, Black America, Change!—for our ancestors’ sake.


In the mid-60’s, going natural (becoming naked to the world), if not the craze, was common. Almost every person, male and female, encountered on the Chicago streets briefly bonded with me in our new found dignity as we proudly exchanged smiles. They would greet me with:

“Hello, Sister.”

The Civil Rights struggle had ushered in an uncanny solidarity that has not occurred since. I still treasure that era, can yet recall it with mental clarity and bitter-sweet nostalgia.

The first time I left my house without my facade (straightened hair), I boarded the bus and two young black ladies were sitting in the front of the bus. One told the other:

“My God, I will never wash my hair again.”

Pretending not to hear, my stolen glimpse was not enough to see what they actually looked like, but I remember that statement just as clear as if it happened yesterday. For six to seven years thereafter, I wore my hair in its natural state. My sister, who led the way, God rest her soul, wore her hair natural until her death in 1969. But a few years later, I deserted what had become a fragile fold and again allowed my natural state to once more retreat and recline. The terminology of the cosmetologists is relaxed/relaxer, which always brings to mind a state of calm.

It was during that time that some employers refused to hire persons with naturals, prompting employment agencies to be pressured into phoning ahead to ascertain the status of the potential employer—receptive or non-receptive. Some would not even grant interviews to anyone without the suitable coiffure. Not too long ago, a small war was raging and some of the employers became engaged in lawsuits around the issue of black hair. Thus, it is now quite common to see black women donning natural hair—braids, twists, short naturals, some locks. The locks are still not as common as the other styles and worn mostly by educators or those holding positions independent of corporate America.

I admire the Rutgers University females, but I cannot ignore the fact that each and every one of them made sure their hair was mainstream to the nth degree—poker straight—for their press conference! This is quite understandable and reinforced even at our own universities. A few years ago, Howard University upheld the standard that non-straightened hair was unacceptable for any young lady that desired to participate as a cheerleader or pom-pom girl. How about that!!

Black people had an extremely difficult time in the Western Hemisphere for centuries regarding their hair. By the way, the slaveholders, upon the arrival of Africans to this hemisphere, shaved their heads, male and female. On the Continent, shaved heads represented a state of mourning, captivity, or slavery; the latter two rendered stark validation to our new status. Three books on the subject of black hair are listed at the end of this article. Let me also inform the reader that hair straightening in our race is a late phenomenon that never occurred before we landed on this piece of real estate. In Africa, we wore locks, braids, and other hairstyles. Additionally, because of the extensive use of harsh chemicals, Black women are now losing their hair. The April 9, 2007 edition of Jet carried an article entitled Salon Owner Takes Lessons of Love and Cosmetology to Sierra Leone. However, in my opinion, the word 'love’ should be excluded. I consider this enterprise currently being launched a negative Pan-African business venture that will influence and engage those receptive in the East, potentially lucrative for both the East and the West. My question is: Are we, as Africans in America, now expanding and broadening the base, and will it be practiced to the extreme as it is here to cause as much hair loss on the Continent? Well, I’ll leave that alone and move on.

We further compound and internalize our degradation, both male and female, by spewing debase terms, either to or about each other, such as: bitch, ho or hoe (whore), nigga or niggah (nigger), and every other derogatory name imaginable. There is another name the brothas now trade back and forth among themselves—dog or dawg—after that four-legged canine creature which automatically identifies the female counterpart as…exactly! These kinds of labels leave the door more than ajar for the Don Imuses of the world to promote equally racism and sexism. This ‘dog/dawg’ phenomenon presented one brother who works at a Chicagoland fire station with a problem. His white co-workers put dog food in his meal and of course he was outraged as he should have been. But what right-thinking male would refer to himself as a dog? Now, that one is a far reach. However, no matter how we choose to spell our debasement or nicknames, the implications remain the same, and most resurrect all the cultural and racial assaults that have been with us ever since the first boat docked, while in this new millennium we refuse to discard the baton. When are we going to toss away the baton and, therefore, cancel the race that we cannot win?

Okay, back to this nappy situation. My parents taught me that there are so many naps per square inch—on rugs, not our heads. Admixtures and a vast amount of miscegenation (the slave masters raping Black women) has resulted in black hair encompassing a wide range of textures, although the vast majority of black hair falls neatly into the category of what Black people have decided to retain from slavery days, um, nappy. (In case you would like to know, in Australia the word nappy is a diaper!) I have never been able to come to terms with that word. Perhaps because of my upbringing I was never taught to categorize hair. (As a thorny sidebar for the reader, my maternal grandmother had wavy hair past her shoulders and my mother’s hair was long and wiry straight, never springy and drawing up typically close to the head as mines does.) Curly, kinky, wavy, wiry, course, soft, semi-straight, long hair/short hair, whatever!—I challenge Black people, especially Black women, to prove to me we have ‘bad’ hair. Originally, lye-based straighteners—I repeat, lye-based, now replaced by chemicals that are as equally harsh, enable us to hide our true selves. Thus, we constantly avoid exercising, swimming, the rain, don shower caps when we shower, just to maintain our relaxed state. However, prove to me, ladies, we possess bad/inferior hair that withstands the harsh treatment we subject it to without follicle damage. I contend there is not one thing ‘bad’ about it since it remains inanimate and cannot cause incarceration except in our minds.

Okay, back to Square One. In most cases, there comes a time when the relaxed hair of a Black female, especially one that doesn’t allow a peeking crimp to cramp her style, needs a recess. She then resorts to weaves, braids, naturals, and wigs. When that time comes, perhaps she should check out Pamela Ferrell’s Let’s Talk Hair and be pleasantly surprised at the various hairstyles that can be accomplished without chemicals. Granted, our ancient ancestors wore wigs, but from what I have read, only occasionally, and mostly resulting from old-age baldness, male and female alike. The locks and braids worn by our ancient ancestors are displayed on the pyramids of Kemet (Egypt.) Locks are spoken of in the Holy Bible; Samson wore them (Judges 16:13 & 19).

Listed below are three books, one briefly mentioned above, with more information on black hair:

1. Byrd, Ayana D. & Lori L. Tharps. Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America. St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,NY, 2001.

2. Ferrell, Pamela. Let’s Talk Hair. Cornrows & Co.,Inc., 5401
Fourteenth Street NW, Washington, DC, 1996.

3. Worthy, R.L. About Black Hair. Kornerstone Books, 6947 Coal Creek Pkwy., Suite 206, Newcastle,WA, 2006.