Black Venus Hottentot Revisited: Gratuitous Use of Black Women's Bodies and the Role of Race and Gender in Campus and Academic Reactions

Abstract

This book chapter, entitled Black Venus Hottentot Revisited: Gratuitous Use of Black Women’s Bodies and the Role of Race and Gender in Campus and Academic Reactions (Published in RACE TO INJUSTICE: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE DUKE UNIVERSITY LACROSSE PLAYERS’ RAPE CASE, Carolina Academic Press, edited by Michael Seigel), analyzes the class/race/gender implications of the campus reactions to the Duke rape allegations as well as explores the potential for added protections for women employed in the erotic labor force. The chapter further focuses on sexual profiling in the erotic labor force and discusses how women of color who are engaged in erotic work are even more burdened by such profiling. In doing so, it explores the perception of women of color’s bodies, historically and currently, as well as the race/class/gender issues raised by the events and narratives surrounding the Duke rape allegations.