Mothers of Gynecology Monument
Emancipation
The ‘Mothers of Gynecology’ in Montgomery, Alabama, was dedicated on September 24, 2021 and created by Michelle Browder. This monument depicts Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy, three real enslaved women who were operated on against their will by the ‘father of gynaecology’ J. Marion Sims. The monument itself consists of three statues, one of each woman; the tallest is Anarcha, who was only 17 when Sims operated on her for complications from a traumatic childbirth. Browder sculpted the statues from discarded metal objects donated by the public – including several surgical and gynaecological instruments – ‘to symbolize how Black women have been treated and to demonstrate the beauty in the broken and discarded.’ The monument itself is full of symbolic meaning: Anarcha's womb is removed from her body, leaving a gaping hole in her abdomen containing a single red rose. Behind her, a metal cage representing her uterus is stuffed full of surgical instruments. Betsey also wears a crown made from a speculum, an instrument which Sims invented through his experiments on these enslaved women.
Monument type:
Statue - group
Artist:
Michelle Browder
Dedication Date:
2021-09-24
Address:
Montgomery
Montgomery
Alabama
United States
Inscription:
Want more Info? Click the Expand button below:
Expand
Conception Date:
Opening Date:
2021-09-24
Material:
Metal - unknown type
Size:
0m x 0m x 4.572m
Creator:
Michelle Browder, More Up Campus
Cost / Value:
Erected by:
Michelle Browder and More Up Campus
Funded by:
Medical Association of the State of Alabama
Run by:
Indigenous Land
Muscogee
Organization/Curator:
Data Sources:
“Anarcha Lucy Betsey Monument | Montgomery | More up Campus.” Anarcha Lucy Betsey, www.anarchalucybetsey.org/.
Kuta, Sara, “Subjected to Painful Experiments and Forgotten, Enslaved “Mothers of Gynecology” Are Honored with New Monument.” Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mothers-of-gynecology-monument-honors-enslaved-women-180980064/.
Read below for one of our contributor’s reflections on this monument