The Bustle and the Stolen Silhouette

Send us Fan MailThis episode explores the complex historical and cultural intersection between Victorian bustle and the Black female body, specifically examining how European fashion engineered a silhouette previously pathologized in African women like Sarah Baartman. While no direct proof exists that dressmakers intentionally copied Baartman, the argument is that Western culture commodified and celebrated an exaggerated posterior as high fashion for white women while simultaneously dehumanizing Black women for the same natural traits. Research also provides a socioeconomic analysis of Black women's participation in this trend, estimating that while systemic poverty and white supremacy limited widespread daily use, many used the style as a tool for respectability and self-expression. Modern parallels are drawn to contemporary beauty standards, where features once mocked on Black bodies are now aspirational commodities achieved through surgery and shapewear. Ultimately, this shows a recurring pattern of aesthetic appropriation where the fashion industry extracts silhouettes from Black culture without acknowledging their origins or the disparate social treatment of the women who possess them.Support the show https://rootednroweming.etsy.combuymeacoffee.com/allieykittk https://galaxy.ai/?ref=allisona8Thank you for tuning in. Please return next week for another exciting and interesting discussion on today's top topics.https://galaxy.ai/?ref=allisona8https://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyCoziez