Say Anarcha

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In 1846, J. Marion Sims, known as "The Father of Gynecology," began experimental surgeries on Anarcha, a young enslaved woman referred to as "The Mother of Gynecology." These procedures, conducted without anesthesia, led to Anarcha's so-called "cure" and significantly impacted women's health. Despite the brutal nature of these experiments, Sims claimed to have cured obstetric fistula, a condition that had baffled the medical community for centuries. He leveraged his alleged success to establish a hospital in New York City, where he continued dangerous experiments on Irish women, ultimately achieving fame as a celebrity surgeon treating the elite in Europe. While medical texts recognized Anarcha's importance in medicine, her personal story remained largely untold. Author J.C. Hallman conducted extensive research to uncover the first evidence of Anarcha's life beyond Sims's accounts. Hallman traced her journey from a Southern plantation to the clinic where she endured painful surgeries, her later years in Richmond and New York City, and her burial in a Virginia forest. As society confronts the legacy of white supremacy and racial health disparities, Hallman's narrative illuminates Anarcha's contributions and challenges the glorified image of Sims, revealing the sacrifices of a woman who changed the world yet was forgotten—until now.