Alfred Romero
10/28/2022
Professor Frank
Introduction to Literary Theory & Criticism
QCQ#7
In her poem “The Venus Hottentot”, Elizabeth Alexander describes herself as a “black cutout against a captive blue sky, pivoting nude so the paying audience can view [her] naked buttocks” (Alexander, part 2, stanza 1, lines 5-8).
When Alexander says this, I immediately think of the perception humans have towards differences that they aren’t familiar with. When a subject seems to appear or be different, humans have this approach towards that subject that becomes signature for their behavior. This could result in the outcome of fear towards that subject or curiosity. Either way, any humanity that the subject may have had vanishes within that first encounter and while it may reappear in the future in the perception of humanity, it’s gone at the first encounter. I think Alexander portrays this well through the matter of racial tensions as this African American woman is perceived rather as an entertainment act rather than a human being. On top of this, this also contributes to any prior discussion of the concept of intersectionality, as we follow an African American woman who represents two different social groups that have been oppressed throughout history. At the end of the day however, this doesn’t really come as a surprise to me. It should be pretty well known by now that humans either fear or embrace the unknown, but either way that initial encounter with the unknown would treat the subject as a foreign substance rather than trying to relate with it.
I’d like to ask Alexander what her inspiration for this poem was (obviously racial tensions serves as the primary background, but I’m wondering if there was any specific event) and additionally, if she thinks these scientific objectifications will ever stop in the history of humanity.
