Since we have had some lively discussion about HPV the virus that sometimes causes cervical cancer, I thought I would share with you about some information I learned about the development of the speculum. As a result of the development of the speculum by the “American father of gynocology” Dr. J. Marion Sims, reproductive technology has evolved to enable us to learn more about our bodies and monitor cell changes in our reproductive system that might signal cancer.

Even though I am thankful that the speculum has helped me and countless other women worldwide protect our health and safety, I am saddened to know that slave women had to suffer through Dr. Sims’ numerous expirimentations with their bodies, naked, without anesthesia, and in front of dozens of spectators. Moreover, I’m more upset that most mainstream history books neglect to mention the extremely inhumane treatment of women of color during slavery. Women carried a far more extreme burden because they were viewed as “breeders” who literally created more financial revenue for their owners through childbirth in addition to serving as free labor.

I just finished an article by scholar Terri Kapsalis titled Mastering the Female Pelvis: Race and Tools of Reproduction. Kapsalis’ piece investigates the role of colonialist and patriarchal power in the development of the field of gynecology. Before her article, Kapsalis provides a quote from a doctor who speaks to the suffering black women in Alabama endured during the development of the speculum. She begins her article with a historical biographical sketch of J. Marion Sims, MD the self-named “second wealthiest of all American physicians”.

Kapsalis argues that Sims gained his notoriety as a direct result of the enslavement of African-Americans and the fact that the women he experimented on were considered human capital in pre-Civil War America. Kapsalis makes a clear connection between her historical exploration and current reproductive injustices against women of color linking present-day forced sterilization practices aimed at poor women of color through “accessibility and legislated incentives” for harmful reproductive technologies like Norplant.

The author also shows how privacy and safety were used in Sims’ hospital to protect white female subjects from pain and humiliation during reproductive treatments while slaves were left exposed during dozens of repeated treatments without anesthesia. I encourage you to read Kapsalis’ piece in memory of Betsey, Lucy, and Anarcha, three of the slave women Sims was known to have used as human guinea pigs. Kapsalis presents a well argued and relevant historical investigation into the medical technologies that serve people who are in positions of power today and in the past. Make sure to check out her book Public Privates!

Learn more about how you can prevent reproductive injustice against women of color and poor women today