Honoring the enslaved African American foremothers of modern women's health: Meditations on 40 years of Black feminist praxis.
Anarcha, Lucy, Betsey (and the unnamed others)
Black Feminism
Cultural Memory & Healing Justice
Foremothers of American Gynecology
Gender & U.S. Slavery
Historical Anthropology
Journal
Medical anthropology quarterly
ISSN: 0745-5194
Titre abrégé: Med Anthropol Q
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 8405037
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
27 Nov 2023
27 Nov 2023
Historique:
received:
14
12
2021
accepted:
02
11
2023
medline:
27
11
2023
pubmed:
27
11
2023
entrez:
27
11
2023
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
This article analyzes 40 years of Black feminist scholarship, art, and grassroots activism dedicated to the lives and legacies of the "foremothers of American gynecology." Infamously, in Montgomery, Alabama, between 1845 and 1849, up to 16 enslaved women were exploited at a backyard hospital, some subjected to surgical experimentation by Dr James Marion Sims. He was a famous and world-renowned surgeon who died in 1883, with a reputation as "the father of modern gynecology." Sims achieved the medical knowledge that catapulted him into American and European fame, using skills gained from the exploitation of the enslaved women in his early career. Famously, three of these women are referenced by their first names: Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey. This research asks: how have these important figures been remembered in 20th and 21st-century Black feminist scholarship, art, and grassroots community activism? Further, what are the broader impacts of this pathbreaking truth, reckoning, and reconciliation work?
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© 2023 The Authors. Medical Anthropology Quarterly published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Anthropological Association.
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