The "Hottentot Venus" was the nickname given to Saartjie Baartman, a South African woman born in 1789. She was brought to Europe in the early 19th century and exhibited as a curiosity due to her physical features, particularly her large buttocks. This exploitation highlighted the racial and gender prejudices of the time. Saartjie Baartman's life was marked by humiliation and objectification. After her death in 1815, her remains were displayed in a museum in Paris until 1974, when they were finally returned to South Africa. Her story has since become a symbol of the exploitation of black bodies and the impact of colonialism.