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Body & Safety

Health, bodily autonomy, gender-based violence and the right to live safely.

Stories

Body & SafetyAnalysisGlobal LensThe Gender Lens

From Sarah Baartman to Nicki Minaj: who gets to look at a Black woman’s body?

Donald Trump praised Nicki Minaj’s body to a rally crowd. This analysis asks what a nineteenth-century history can and cannot tell us about that moment. Minaj has not called herself a victim, and the comparison has clear limits.

8 min read

Side-by-side diptych. Left: Nicki Minaj in a beige patterned jacket waves on stage at a political rally in Port Huron, Michigan, with Donald Trump standing behind her and a Make America Great Again banner visible. Right: Two women in a gallery view artworks referencing Sarah Baartman, including large collage portraits on the wall and a dark metal sculpture made of scrap parts depicting a figure from behind.
Body & SafetyGlobal LensThe Gender Lens

Trump praises Nicki Minaj’s body at Michigan rally and tells her to stand

3 min read

Watercolor-style illustration of a Black woman in a blazer seen from behind, standing at a microphone on a US political rally stage facing a large crowd. American flags flank the stage and translucent illustrated eyes float in the spotlight beams, symbolizing public appraisal and scrutiny of Black women's bodies in politics.

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