User:Mdmkd2/Steatopygia

Fausto sterling debunks the fundamental science behind Steatopygia. 

Dass Objectification supplement. using the section on page 54 paragraph 2

Richard S Cooper debunks the belief that genes are racially distinct. 

To-Do List:
Show how steatopygia has no scientific support.

Explain how it is just a description of body type and shape.

Emphasize how this does not have a racial component and this body type can be found in many different people.

Possibly mention how this is predominantly used to described women, likely to objectify and sexualize their figure.

Make a section for Contemporary Debates, focusing on the discourse surrounding the questionable beliefs of this subject as well as the neglected areas.

Contemporary Debates
The current Wikipedia article for “Steatopygia” does not offer the possibility or theory of the condition being anything but genetic. There are articles and scholars that argue that rather than Steatopygia being a result of genetic traits, the condition is constructed as a product of racism in the past. Thus, using Anne Fausto-Sterling’s excerpt, we will explain how Saartje Bartman’s body and her “condition” of Steatopygia were analyzed by white men, who had anxiety regarding race, and created this term using the scientific and social standards of the 1800s. Additionally, Minesh Dass’s article furthers this idea and explains how the term was created by white men as a way of sexually objectifying these women and calling it scientific. Dass also concludes that Steatopygia is imaginary and subjective. Moreover, we will also use Richard Cooper’s work dealing with race in biology to explain how racism within the political and social realm at the time made its way into the scientific field and that science has been used to describe, support, and legitimize racism and race. We will use these works to incorporate the theory that Steatopygia is a racist and socially constructed concept in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding and explanation.