The History of Gynecology

At the Suburban Women problem, we talk a lot about how extremist politicians are trying to make decisions about women’s bodies. And this week, we learned about the little-known unethical practice of conducting non-consensual pelvic exams on unconscious patients from A’magine Goddard, who directed a documentary called “At Your Cervix.” 

If you haven’t listened to the interview yet, make sure you do. You’ll hear A’magine talk about how this shocking practice is still legal in 29 states despite the fact that there exists an ethical and effective way of teaching pelvic exams. 

This practice can be traced back to the racist, misogynistic and violent history of gynecology that started with James Marion Sims, known as the “father of modern gynecology.” Sims developed pioneering tools and surgical techniques related to women’s reproductive health in the 19th century when treating women was considered distasteful and rarely done. 

His research was conducted on enslaved Black women without anesthesia or consent causing untold suffering by operating under the racist notion that Black people did not feel pain. In his autobiography ‘The Story of My Life’ he reflects on the advantages he found to working on people that were essentially his property because he took temporary ownership of the enslaved women until their treatment was completed.

One of the women he operated on was a 17-year-old enslaved woman named Anarcha. She had a very traumatic labor and delivery, and after performing 30 operations on her for over four years, Sims finally “perfected” his method.

Anarcha is now part of The Mothers of Gynecology Monument that honors her as well as two other enslaved Black women (Lucy and Betsey) who were also experimented on by Sims. The 15-foot monument by Michelle Browder was unveiled in Montgomery, Alabama, on September 24, 2021 near the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

(Photo credit: Stephen Zucker)

It’s important that we know our rights, our bodies and how to advocate for ourselves. 

The “At Your Cervix” team is joining with survivors, advocates, activists, legislators, professors, medical students, doctors, and bioethicists to get laws passed in every state that protect people from non-consensual intimate exams. 

Knowledge is power. Share this episode with the women in your life.