Renée Cox’s Hot-en-tot Venus illustrates the two common representations of female nudity in society: the sexualisation of female bodies in media which endorses the cliché “sex sells”; and the celebration of the female body (suggested by Cox’s confident and poised expression). Cox, more specifically, addresses the misrepresentation of black females by directly alluding to the grotesque objectification of Saartjie Baartman (commonly referred to as Hottentot Venus). Baartman’s bulbous derriere (caused by steatopygia) was exploited by freak shows as she was paraded around Europe to entertain and astonish the public. She was depicted as an oddity, a monstrosity whilst also being fetishized to satiate men’s erotic fantasies. N. Gordon-Chipembere in her book Representation and Black Womanhood: The Legacy of Sarah Baartman (2011, p.1) wrote “She has become the landscape upon which multiple narratives of exploitation and suffering within black womanhood have been enacted”. Cox transforms this contaminated perception of black women by embracing her body with pride and great fondness. Her overpowering adoration for her own body creates a sense of impregnable freedom, she refuses to be silenced. Within the image, her body glows amid the solid black background; she radiates strength and power.

GORDON-CHIPEMBERE, N. (2011) Representation and Black Womanhood: The Legacy of Sarah Baartman, 1st ed. US: Palgrave Schol