Page 113
“…a piece of metal shorter and thinner than a match…”
“On the Treatment of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. XXIII, 1852, pp. 74-75.
“…would insert a long thin sponge…”
“On the Treatment of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. XXIII, 1852, p. 77.
“…remaining completely motionless…”
“On the Treatment of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. XXIII, 1852, pp. 81-82.
“…seemed to ask for their permission…”
Anarcha’s thought here is a further complication of the question of the enslaved women’s “willingness” to be operated on. Given that many days’ of stillness were required, a woman who did not wish to be experimented on could have foiled Sims’s experiments not only during the procedure, but at any time during the extensive period of aftercare.
“…the cursed women would care for one another…”
“On the Treatment of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula,” J. Marion Sims, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, Vol. XXIII, 1852, p. 81.