The Hottentot Venus and Her Elongated Labia and Large Buttocks

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The enlarged genitalia did not help in these conclusions to being any pride to this race, the fact that these were longer than the world had known only put the further into that category of people who had a retarded biology and filthy habits. They were considered abnormal as compared to normal European women, and many times the sexuality of an African woman was compared with that of an ape. The feature, the Hottentot Apron, that the world had so eagerly sought out and studied, led them to condemn this race as a primitive and lower race and itself became a symbol of bestial sexuality.

However, since there is no real scientific evidence of any connection between enlarged external private parts to intelligence or being lower than humans, the research continued though even by the twentieth-century researchers could not determine whether the Hottentot apron should be considered a cultural or a racial trait.

The studies conducted today and the practices followed to stretch the labia minora, have benefitted a lot from these studies, most of the researchers stated that they did not find any artificial elongation in play here and that the elongation was passed from mother to daughter naturally. However, it has been noted that based on the region, the size and shape of the enlarged labia change distinctly.

In one part of Africa, it was noted that the labia are elongated and flattened out so when spread out flat, they resemble a butterfly with each side playing the role of each wing. The butterfly elongation was noted to be anywhere between 1.5 to 2 inches long on either side. In another part of Africa, it is noted that the width gets reduced and the thickness increases to look similar to the wattle of a turkey cock, and this elongation was noted to be about 3 to 4 inches long on average. The connection to these elongations being a way to enhance beauty is that these elongations could be shaped in different ways to create different forms and the most common of them was the penis where the two sides overlapped each other to form the figure.

It was also noted that exposing their labia minora to the men during dances was a common practice for these women and this was one of the ways to entice a partner. The elongated labia minora or more commonly known as the Hottentot apron became a subject of discussion amongst the researchers of the twentieth century. For the originating races, this was a way for a young woman’s passage to womanhood, and not just the mother but the entire family sometimes would help the girl elongate her labia so she could be more appealing to the prospective partner.