Scholarly presentations and a discussion of society’s fascination with “booty” may seem incongruous. But booties, breasts and other female body parts were the focus of a serious session during this year’s Georgia Women’s Conference sponsored last week by the Georgia Perimeter College Diversity Alliance.

In “Anaconda, Bass, & Booty, Oh My!: Female Body Image and Popular Music by Women in the 21st Century,” GPC English professor Dr. Valerie Dotson and two of her literature students led a riveting session that explored the way women of various races frame discussions of body image through music and visual images.

Sociology student Aletha Roberson listened intently as Dotson lectured about how some people characterize black women as innately hypersexual. Dotson linked this dogma to Sara Baartman, a South African woman who—because of her large buttocks—was paraded naked across Europe as part of a 19^th-century freak show.

“I was blown away by what I heard,” Roberson said, noting that she’d seen caricatures of Baartman but knew very little about her until the conference.

Dotson’s student Keyanna Hardy focused her part of the session on “The Effects of Body Image on Pop Culture.” She talked about how music and even super models can influence a woman’s desire to receive silicone injections for augmentation of breasts and other body parts. She also talked about what can go wrong when those procedures are botched.

“I wanted to provide for my students and those attending the session a larger context for thinking about this so-called ‘Year of the Butt,’” Dotson said, referring to frequently heard refrains in today’s music that extol a larger derriere.

“Sara Baartman is the symbolic beginning of the discussion of the black female body, and she is still relevant because of the intersections of sexuality, power, racism, colorism and exploitation that are still associated with black women’s bodies,” Dotson said.

Elsewhere at the women’s conference, panelists discussed the role of women and voting. Dr. Salli Vargis gave a historical perspective on suffrage and its relationship to Prohibition efforts. History student Patricia Ramos enjoyed the presentation.

“It was very helpful to the research we’re doing in history right now,” she said.

Award-winning author and humorist Hollis Gillespie kicked off the 2015 Georgia Women’s Conference with a comedic and highly inspirational presentation. She spoke briefly about her stint as a community college student, then about how she walked away from a secure job to follow her dream.

“You have to know the point when your security blanket is suffocating you. It was a frightening move for me to leave and go be a writer,” she said.

Gillespie called fear a “corrosive element” and encouraged conference goers to ponder a simple thought when trying to figure out what to do with their lives: “Think about what the world would be missing without you in it.”

This year marked the third year for the Georgia Women’s Conference, which focused on “The Female Perspective in Art, Scholarship and Politics” and offered a wide range of scholarly presentations, discussion forums and networking opportunities. Other conference attractions included performances by musicians, vocalists and dancers.