Venus in the Dark

In this third edition of the classic Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture, Janell Hobson explores the enduring figure of the "Hottentot Venus" and the history of critical and artistic responses to her by black women in contemporary photography, film, literature, music, and dance.

Janell Hobson is Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York, USA. She is a contributing writer and editor of Ms. Magazine, and author of other books such as When God Lost Her Tongue: Historical Consciousness and the Black Feminist Imagination (Routledge, 2021). Hobson specializes in research on black women's histories and popular representations.