HONORING ANARCHA, BETSEY, AND LUCY Uplifting the ‘Mothers of Gynecology’ Frankly. is a podcast that explores the health and wellbeing of adolescents from the perspectives and lived experiences of young people on Chicago’s South and West sides. Co-produced by Chicago youth Kaya Thomas and Alizha Vernon and Ci3 at the University of Chicago, Frankly. is a seven-episode series that builds on the findings from Ci3’s Adolescent X study, a research project that uses narrative methods to explore the messages that young people receive about their bodies, identities, and sexual health. Frankly. centers the voices of young people marginalized by race, gender, and/or sexual orientation as they navigate various social environments, develop their identities, and understand the world around them. Frankly. contextualizes the stories of young people by examining the ways in which structural barriers and institutions impede their health and wellbeing.
The Frankly. Podcast Mixtape is a discussion guide that accompanies the podcast. It is a compilation of links to articles, archival and audio-visual materials, films and documentaries, research institutions, related Adolescent X research findings, and resources that provide more insights into the topics explored in each episode. It will also highlight Chicago-based community spaces that uplift the brilliance and diversity of Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods.
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Episode Summary In this episode, we link the history of medical racism to current disparities in reproductive health. We delve into the racist roots that led J. Marion Sims, celebrated as the father of gynecology, to experiment on the bodies of enslaved Black women. To perfect the surgical repair of vesico-vaginal fistulas, he performed many experimental operations on an enslaved woman named Anarcha. Between 1845 to 1849, Sims performed 30 operations on Anarcha without anesthesia due to the racist presumption that slaves didn’t feel pain. His revered accomplishments are rooted in the pain and torture of Black women. This history should not be forgotten. We also broach the topic of forced sterilization in this episode. Forced sterilization is the act of performing hysterectomies on patients and rendering them infertile without their consent, and in many cases without their knowledge. The toxic nature of racism creates increased maternal morbidity for Black women. It increases the vulnerability for Black communities and LatinX communities to pandemics, to health conditions where they say that if a white community gets the flu, Black people get pneumonia. We have to address racism. It's such a big issue, but it doesn't do any good to minimize it. -- Dr. Candice Norcott Here, Dr. Norcott describes how institutional racism causes disparities in health, which can also include high rates of heart disease, hypertension, and lung disease. These health disparities can be linked to the generational impact of racism, which is “the discriminatory treatment, unfair policies, and inequitable opportunities based on race produced and perpetuated by institutions.” It is when we examine health disparities within reproductive health from a systemic perspective, rather than an individualized one, we can begin to see the root causes, and effects of inequities. The dehumanization of enslaved people stripped them of consent. Of all the Black women who Sims experimented on, Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey are the only names that I was able to unearth. Without a name, these women have only recently, become footnotes in history. After 30 surgeries, countless hours, and the unmeasurable pain Anarcha and other unnamed women experienced, Sims perfected the treatment of vesico-vaginal fistulas. The rest is history.
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FINDINGS ABOUT MEDICAL RACISM FROM THE ADOLESCENT X STUDY Medical mistrust among Black and Brown Americans continues to the present day. The history of racism, violence, and direct harm at the hands of the medical system has had innumerable direct and indirect effects on the behavior and health of marginalized populations. For example, in a study published in 2018 in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, authors Marcella Alsan and Marianne Wanamaker point to the 1972 public disclosure of the Tuskegee Study, in which medical providers left Syphilis untreated in the black community in order to study the disease process. This study is correlated with increased medical mistrust and decreased medical interactions for older Black men. In our own study, we asked young people who they turn to when they face difficult medical decisions and complex issues. We found that young people are likely to turn to parents, older siblings, and close friends for medical information and support. The support they receive can be general as well as specific, with detailed advice or assistance in navigating specific decisions like which contraceptive options to use. The only other type of adult that was mentioned as a potential resource was a school-based guidance counselor. It is interesting to note that no young people named doctors or nurses as medical resources. ❖ Several participants described feeling that their interactions with the health care system and with medical doctors became more awkward as they entered puberty and their teenage years, particularly if the health care provider had a different gender identity from the patient. ❖ Among the reasons participants gave for these feelings of discomfort were that as they aged, parents were no longer in the room with them and the doctor, and also the procedures they underwent were sometimes more invasive than they had been during childhood visits to the doctor (e.g., having a pelvic exam vs. getting a routine vaccination). ❖ Other participants expressed feeling completely comfortable visiting the doctor, despite whether they had seen the same doctor before, and even if they needed to discuss sexual and reproductive health matters such as birth control options. ❖ However, one participant who did not mind talking to the doctor about sexual and reproductive health did note that the doctor’s use of jargon was a barrier and that she wished her health care provider(s) would use plain, accessible language. Another participant described appreciation for doctors who ask patients if they have any questions and give the patients the space to request the information that they really need.
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RESOURCES + LINKS Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy E. Roberts (BOOK) This is a no-holds-barred response to the liberal and conservative retreat from an assertive, activist, and socially-transformative civil rights agenda --using a Black feminist lens and an examination of the impact of legislation, social policy, and welfare "reform" on Black women's--especially poor Black women's--control over their bodies. It examines the limitations on their freedom to bear and raise children with respect and dignity in a society that is determined to demonize, even criminalize their lives. It gives its readers a cogent legal and historical argument for a radically new and socially-transformative, definition of "liberty" and "equality" for the American polity from a black feminist perspective.
SisterSong is a Southern, national membership organization; whose purpose is to build an effective network of individuals and organizations to improve institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective was formed in 1997 by 16 organizations of women of color from four mini-communities (Native American, African American, Latina, and Asian American) who recognized that we have the right and responsibility to represent ourselves and our communities, and the equally compelling need to advance the perspectives and needs of women of color. - History of Reproductive Justice | SisterSong “#SayHerName: Should Obstetrics and Gynecology Reckon with the Legacy of JM Sims?” (ARTICLE) By Monica Christmas, MD: Dr. Christmas sheds light on the suffering enslaved women endured while patients of Dr. James Sims and their contributions to the optimization of his surgical technique for vesicovaginal fistula. Dr. Christmas also posits that the profession must question if James Marion Sims is the name that truly embodies the values of obstetrics and gynecology.
ARTICLES: The US Medical System is Still Haunted by Slavery (video) | Vox Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology (BOOK) Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology | NPR Forced Sterilization is Nothing New to Criminalized People in the US | TruthOut Doctors and Racial Bias: Still a Long Way to Go | NY Times The Many Ways Institutional Racism Kills Black People | TIME How Advocates of Reproductive Justice Stepped into the Spotlight | TIME
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CONVERSATION STARTERS Conversation Starters are prompts that aim to encourage deeper reflection about the topics discussed in each episode. These prompts help readers to get the ball rolling on contextualizing the stories from young people and insights from adult experts regarding consent. Readers can reflect alone or share them with family, friends, or classmates. ● ●
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How has the history of racism in America affected the health and health care of Black and Brown people? Dr. Candice Norcott gives us many clear examples of how racism has “downstream effects,” meaning, racism causes real harms when it comes to health and wellbeing. What are some examples of how America’s disease of racism results in negative health outcomes for Black and Brown people? The field of medicine has a long and complicated history in the oppression of and direct harm of Black people in America. How do you think the field of medicine can help heal this past? How can art play a role in healing racism and other large systemic issues? Why do you think facing our histories is so important to creating better futures?
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Production Team Melissa Gilliam MD, MPH Ireashia Bennett Valerie Reynolds Kaya Thomas Erisa Apantaku Liz Futrell Alizha Vernon Robin Cogdell Crystal Tyler Erin Garcia Soo Young Lee Adriana Brodyn Melissa Sherwin
Creator, Ci3 Founder and Director Co-Host, Executive Producer, Sound Engineer Senior Producer, Story Editor Co-Host, Ci3 Fellow, Producer Story Editor, Podcast Consultant Project Manager, Producer Ci3 Fellow, Producer Lead Graphic Designer Story Editor Story Editor Story Editor, Researcher Story Editor, Researcher Story Editor
Back Cover Frankly. is a seven-episode podcast that explores the health, wellbeing and lived experiences of Black and Latinx young people on Chicago’s South and West sides. Frankly. centers the voices of young people who have been marginalized due to their race, gender, and/or sexual orientation as they navigate various social environments, develop their identities, and understand the world around them. The podcast engages young people in conversations about their unique experiences with consent, healthy relationships, over-policing, sexual harassment, sex ed, and health equity. Additionally, Frankly. aims to contextualize these stories by examining the ways in which structural barriers and institutions impede young people’s overall health and wellbeing.
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The Frankly. podcast a Ci3 initiative. Ci3 is a research center at the University of Chicago, addressing the social and structural determinants of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. At Ci3, we envision a world in which all youth emerge into adulthood with agency over their bodies and futures. Ci3 is committed to empowering young people, conducting innovative research, and uncovering opportunities for policy and systemic change. For more information visit: ci3.uchicago.edu
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