• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
BlackDoctor.org
Where Wellness & Culture Connect

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

  • Health Conditions
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Longevity
  • Resource Centers
    • Cancer Resource Center
    • Covid Resource Center
    • Clinical Trials Resource Center
  • Find A Doctor
  • BDO TV
Home / Wellness / Womens Health / Black Pain: Slavery & The Traumatic Roots Of Modern Gynecology

Black Pain: Slavery & The Traumatic Roots Of Modern Gynecology

sad African American woman

Black people have contributed greatly to the advancement of medicine, oftentimes at the risk of our well-being. Particularly, the Black woman. Henrietta Lacks is a prime example. After being treated for a cervical tumor in 1951, cells from Lacks’ cervix were taken without her permission and used for research. Her cells became known as the HeLa immortal cell line, the first able to replicate infinitely, and are basis for medical breakthroughs like the HPV vaccine.

READ: Is Black Pain Treated Less?

This left an indelible mark on an existing open wound for Blacks and healthcare in the United States. J. Marion Sims, known as the “father of modern gynecology,” used female slaves to treat vesico-vaginal fistula (abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault.) Sims didn’t anesthetize these women during these excruciatingly painful surgeries.

His belief was that Black women, unlike upper class White women, could endure the pain at a higher level. During an 1857 lecture he said the surgeries “were painful enough to justify the trouble.” Sims, a slave owner, set the precedent for a practice that still continues to this day.

You May Also Like
13 Signs You Need to See a Dermatologist

Dr. Vanessa Worthington Gamble is a physician and scholar widely regarded for her studies in medical humanities. An NPR article with Dr. Vanessa Worthington points out these medical atrocities.

“There was a belief at the time that black people did not feel pain in the same way. They were not vulnerable to pain, especially black women. So that they had suffered pain in other parts of their lives and their pain was ignored.”

Ignored is often how Black people feel in the medical sphere. You might’ve heard your parents say that you should always dress up in your best threads when you go to the hospital. This systemic belief comes from a history of being treated as less than human in America.

READ: Longer Waits, Higher Costs: Why Are Black Men With Prostate Cancer Getting Inferior Care?

You May Also Like
7 Proven Ways to Cure an Upset Stomach

“These women were property. These women could not consent. These women also had value to the slaveholders for production and reproduction – how much work they could do in the field, how many enslaved children they could produce. And by having these fistulas, they could not continue with childbirth and also have difficulty working,” states Dr. Worthington.

While Black women aren’t enduring the same level of mistreatment that Sims’ slave patients, Lucy, Betsey and Anarcha received, there is a growing amount of evidence that Blacks are still….

Continue Reading

The Latest In Womens Health

breastfeeding

TikToker Says Her Nipple Fell Off While Breastfeeding

Going through motherhood can be a rewarding experience for some women. However, being a mother to a newborn child comes with its own set of challenges. TikTok user @Brookesobasic never thought that she’d endure nipple trauma. The stay-at-home mother of read more about TikToker Says Her Nipple Fell Off While Breastfeeding
egg freezing

Egg Freezing: The Facts

The technology surrounding family planning gets more and more advanced by the year. Oöcyte cryopreservation, otherwise known as egg freezing, is quickly becoming one of the most common family planning procedures women are considering these days. Whether it be because read more about Egg Freezing: The Facts
sex-related injuries

6 Common Sex-Related Injuries

As much as we love sex, it undoubtedly comes with more risks than any other physical activity that we can engage in, even if you haven't experienced one of these sex-related injuries. Yes, it brings about life, feels good, raises read more about 6 Common Sex-Related Injuries
dip powder nails

Think Twice Before Getting Another Powder Dip Manicure!

We know how frustrating it is to sit in the nail salon for hours, painstakingly waiting until your manicurist has completed your full set before looking down and realizing that you’ve smudged your nails. Powder dip manicures — one of read more about Think Twice Before Getting Another Powder Dip Manicure!

6 Reasons To Eat Flaxseed

For something so small, flaxseed has big benefits. Recent studies have shown that flaxseed, known to the world for thousands of years, may aid in lowering cholesterol, stabilizing blood sugar, reducing bone loss, promoting weight loss, increasing immunity, and fighting read more about 6 Reasons To Eat Flaxseed
things you need postpartum

Happy Healing: Five Things You’ll Need Postpartum

When I gave birth to my first child, I had a vaginal delivery and I did not take an epidural. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I found myself focused on learning how to care for my read more about Happy Healing: Five Things You’ll Need Postpartum

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Poll

Popular Posts

  • 10 Signs You’re Living With Clogged Arteries 10 Signs You’re Living With Clogged Arteries
  • Tracee Ellis Ross at 50: Loving Her Body With No FilterTracee Ellis Ross at 50: Loving Her Body With No Filter
  • Like Father, Like Son: ‘Miami Vice’ Star’s Son Handsome Like his DaddyLike Father, Like Son: 'Miami Vice' Star's Son Handsome Like his Daddy
  • Mo’Nique at 55: Slimmer, Happier & Wiser: “I Love Us For Real”Mo'Nique at 55: Slimmer, Happier & Wiser: "I Love Us For Real"
  • The Cast of The Bernie Mac Show: 20+ Years LaterThe Cast of The Bernie Mac Show: 20+ Years Later

Footer

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

BDO is the world’s largest and most comprehensive online health resource specifically targeted to African Americans. BDO understands that the uniqueness of Black culture - our heritage and our traditions - plays a role in our health. BDO gives you access to innovative new approaches to the health information you need in everyday language so you can break through the disparities, gain control and live your life to its fullest.

Connect With Us

Learn More About

  • Hepatitis C
  • Diabetes
  • Sickle Cell
  • Mental Health
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • BlackDoctor.org Advertising and Sponsorship Policy
  • Daily Vitamina
  • TBH

Copyright © 2023, BlackDoctor, Inc. All rights reserved.