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147737 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.63961 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ 2021-05 29 pages eng Mitiku, Meron Degu Agruss, David Soares, Rebecca School of Molecular Sciences Department of Psychology Barrett, The Honors College Text Colonialism is the practice of conquering lands of already established individuals for the greater good of Western civilization. These actions are often rooted in the idea that the ways of the indigenous people are almost primitive in comparison to the ways of the West. Many forms of modern-day oppression are rooted in the disastrous acts against marginalized groups during colonial eras. In discourse relating to colonialism, it is necessary that the topic of the sexualization of Native groups are mentioned. Sexualization can be referred to as the act of sexualizing both humans and objects that are not intended to be innately sexual. Many literary texts were written during the nineteenth century expose the trends of sexualization towards indigenous peoples. More specifically, Heart of Darkness brings light to colonialism and provides insight into the European man’s sexualization for the Native woman. Within the text, the sexualization for the Native Congo woman is undeniably present all throughout the novel. Within the novella, the main character, Marlow, is infatuated with many aspects of the Native culture. He takes a particular interest in the land, when describing the land he uses verbiage such as “impenetrable” to describe lands that have yet to be discovered by Westerners. He describes the ways in which he no longer finds interest in lands that have been “penetrated”. These sexual undertones of virginity used to describe the Native land can be compared to that of a Native woman. Various aspects of the Native culture were sexualized in this similar manner, the sexual perspective they had on the Native women was so strong that they viewed all aspects of the Native sexually due to their linkage to the Native woman. This thesis serves to address the sexual connections made between the land and culture of the Congo to the Native woman. Many scholars praise the author for including a Native woman of power within the text, however, this thesis contradicts these claims and analyzes the ways in which this The native woman is only powerful due to the European male gaze. to how Africans within the congo were treated during their colonial era. The text provides insight into the unhealthy environments the Africans were forced to live in. They were forced to eat hippo meat and many physically looked as if they were on the verge of death while their white counterparts were dressed in luxury. Additionally, there was carelessness for the bodies of the Africans. Many were oversexualized and taken advantage of, due to the power systems placed upon them they were unable to deny any advances even if they wanted to. These systems of oppression are still in place, literary analysis of the remnants of colonialism can be found through twentieth and twenty-first-century texts. Colonization Congo Sexualization The Role of European Male in Relation to African Female Sexulization During Congo's Nineteenth Century Colonial Era