Trapped in the Spotlight

Trapped in the Spotlight

In Crimes, Curiosities, and Corsets' debut episode, we uncover how 19th-century Europe’s obsession with spectacle trapped Black women in a paradox—hyper-visible yet erased. Sarah Baartman, paraded as the “Hottentot Venus,” was objectified in life and even in death, while the Dahomey Amazons were reduced to colonial curiosities, their power commodified. Through their stories, we reveal how race, gender, and spectacle culture intertwined to police and dehumanize Black women—turning visibility into control. But within these tales of exploitation lies resistance, a legacy that refuses to be silenced.