User:Victoria Goudeau/Bustle

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History

In the early stages of the fashion for the bustle, the fullness to the back of the skirts was carried quite low and often fanned out to create a train. The transition from the voluminous crinoline-enhanced skirts of the 1850s and 1860s can be seen in the loops and gathers of fabric and trimmings worn during this period. The bustle later evolved into a much more pronounced humped shape on the back of the skirt immediately below the waist, with the fabric of the skirts falling quite sharply to the floor, changing the shape of the silhouette. Bustle

Exoticism of the Black Female Body
Though bustles were undergarments used by white women, the origin of such a voluminous body shape was derived from the once considered eccentric and intriguing bodies of African women. As a result, European male scientists began to probe and examine the bodies of South African women in the 1810s. One of the most renowned African women who Europeans found so fascinating was Sara Baartman, a Khoikhoi woman from South Africa whose body was exhibited as a freak show attraction in Europe during the 19th century. Baartman was known for her unconventional figure; in particular her large, protruding buttocks. Bustles resemble that of Baartman’s figure, both being striking sights to see. While bustles were seen as fashionable, the curvaceous nature of Black women’s body shapes, similar to bustles, served as a sign of the subordination of Black women. The creation of bustles is an example of exoticism, in the sense that the same body shape considered queer on an African woman was deemed stylish on a white woman.

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