For those of you who have a vagina and have reached "sexual maturity", you probably know what the speculum is. It's that thing that gets put into your vagina when you go to the gynecologist. For everyone else, a speculum is a metal or plastic device that looks like a duckbill. It gets inserted into a vagina and then slowly opened so that a doctor (or someone else) can get a good look at the cervix. You can see a cartoon version of the speculum in this cartoon. It's the thing Wonder Woman is holding:
What you may not know is the sordid history of this useful tool. In one way or another the speculum has been around for centuries, but it's modern incarnation, the version that we all know and LOVE today, originated in the 1840s. It was invented by J. Marion Sims, who would eventually be known as "The Architect of the Vagina". SERIOUSLY. Sims was interested in finding a solution to vaginal fistulas, a common problem of the time. Vaginal fistulas are tears in the wall of the vagina (often caused by long childbirth) that cause a constant leakage of urine or feces. Women with untreated fistulas, even today, are subject to social exile and prone to infection. While they are relatively uncommon in the United States today, fistulas were rather regular occurrences in the 19th century.
Sims, doctor to many wealthy individuals, wanted to be able to fix fistulas but could not get a good look at them. Enter the speculum: Sims put together two spoonlike pieces of metal, and vaginas have never been the same. This invention became the Sims speculum, the direct ancestor to the modern duckbills used in gynecological offices the world over.
Sims, doctor to many wealthy individuals, wanted to be able to fix fistulas but could not get a good look at them. Enter the speculum: Sims put together two spoonlike pieces of metal, and vaginas have never been the same. This invention became the Sims speculum, the direct ancestor to the modern duckbills used in gynecological offices the world over.
Once Sims had his speculum he could begin finding a procedure to fix fistulas (an undoubtedly important task). Unfortunately, the means whereby he developed the procedure are truly sickening. As I mentioned, Sims was practicing in the mid-1800s, but I didn't mention that he was living in the American south. As a result, he had access to as many guinea pigs he could afford when conducting experiments towards fixing fistulas. J. Marion Sims invented the speculum and a cure for vaginal fistulas by conducting dozens of surgeries on slave women without the use of anesthetics.
Over a period of four years Sims experimented on more than half a dozen women, at least three of which he experimented on multiple times. One woman was operated on 30 times over four years. WITHOUT ANESTHESIA. (Side note: Anesthesia existed at the time, but it was not in common practice.) These women, who Sims either bought or borrowed from their owners, had surgery on the insides of their vaginas without anesthesia over and over again until Sims "perfected" the procedure. Imagine the pain. Imagine the powerlessness. Only after it was "perfect" did Sims conduct the procedure and use the speculum on white women. In case you were wondering, yes, the white women always had anesthesia.
So, the next time you or someone you know goes to the gynecologist for a yearly "well-woman checkup", remember the women whose bodies were mangled in service of scientific progress. Remember the horrors of slavery and remember its effects--including the speculum and repaired fistulas--that surround us, ever-present reminders that the past has not passed.
Reference:
Kapsalis, Terri. Public Privates: Performing Gynecology From Both Ends of the Speculum. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997. Print.
Over a period of four years Sims experimented on more than half a dozen women, at least three of which he experimented on multiple times. One woman was operated on 30 times over four years. WITHOUT ANESTHESIA. (Side note: Anesthesia existed at the time, but it was not in common practice.) These women, who Sims either bought or borrowed from their owners, had surgery on the insides of their vaginas without anesthesia over and over again until Sims "perfected" the procedure. Imagine the pain. Imagine the powerlessness. Only after it was "perfect" did Sims conduct the procedure and use the speculum on white women. In case you were wondering, yes, the white women always had anesthesia.
So, the next time you or someone you know goes to the gynecologist for a yearly "well-woman checkup", remember the women whose bodies were mangled in service of scientific progress. Remember the horrors of slavery and remember its effects--including the speculum and repaired fistulas--that surround us, ever-present reminders that the past has not passed.
Reference:
Kapsalis, Terri. Public Privates: Performing Gynecology From Both Ends of the Speculum. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997. Print.