The Mothers of Gynecology- Corinne Henslee

Located in Montgomery, Alabama and unveiled on Mother’s Day in 2021, “The Mothers of Gynecology” is a public art piece conceptualized by artist Michelle Browder, with the goal of bringing awareness to the enslaved women who were unfairly experimented on by J. Marion Sims. Tortured and mutilated for the development of sutures and other tools for “women’s health,” the eleven women experimented on by Sims had their humanity stripped from them, with no mention of them whatsoever for decades. Only three women were named in Sim’s notes, Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy, who Browder would choose to depict in her monument. 

Infant mortality and Black women's health get attention at conference. : NPR

The statues themselves are physically demanding of their space, due to the sheer size of the women. Anarcha, the tallest figure, is 15 feet tall, and all three are made from found objects provided by the women around the country. Browder states that these discarded objects and “garbage” represents how black women are treated in America, and that her piece is transformative to the idea to find beauty in what is cast off and broken. Betsy wears a crown made of speculums, and other medical equipment is incorporated into the other statues. Anarcha's midsection, where one’s uterus would be, is a haunting cutout drawing attention and the viewer's eye to the area, to think of what experiments, surgeries, and atrocities might have happened there. Also included on the figures are the names of celebrities who demonstrate the strength of black women, women with large platforms such as Oprah Winfry, Angela Davis, and Serena Williams. The location of this monument is Montgomery, Alabama, though the original creation of the pieces took place in San Francisco. The final location is indicative of what they are meant to represent, they are a few blocks away from the site of these horrible experiments, reclaiming the space and rewriting the history and importance of these women. It is a monument to the black women who gave for medicine, and connects them with the community and gives public recognition that was stripped from them many years ago. 

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