Vagina Museum names galleries after Black ‘mothers of gynaecology’

The Vagina Museum in London has named its three galleries after enslaved Black women who have become known as the “mothers of gynaecology”.

Coinciding with the start of Black History Month, the Bethnal Green museum announced that the galleries will be named Betsey’s Gallery, Anarcha’s Gallery, and Lucy’s Gallery in honour of three women who were subjected to multiple experimental surgeries in 19^th-century Alabama, performed without anaesthesia in front of an audience.

The white physician who performed the surgeries became lauded as the “father of modern gynaecology” due to the techniques he developed during the course of this experimentation.

Twelve enslaved women are known to have been operated on, but Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy are the only ones whose names were recorded.

In recent years, there has been a movement in the US to remove plaques and statues dedicated to the physician and replace them with monuments to the women who were used as medical test subjects.

A statement from the museum said: “In naming the galleries after the mothers of gynaecology, the Vagina Museum hopes to usher in a conversation about racism in medicine, acknowledge the horrific violence that the women suffered, and reckon with the racism and injustice still faced by Black women and women of colour in gynaecological care.”

Zoe Williams, the interim director of the Vagina Museum, said: “The history of gynaecology is a history of racism and violence. We cannot undo the harms inflicted on Betsey, Anarcha and Lucy.

“In saying their names, we acknowledge the violence which has been done to these women, and the echoes of this colonial violence, which continue to affect Black women to this day.

“The Vagina Museum is proudly committed to anti-racism. We are not afraid to address aspects of the past and present which may be uncomfortable for a privileged audience to confront. As a custodian of history, it is our responsibility to usher Betsey, Anarcha and Lucy into the public discourse about racism and medicine.”

Betsey’s Gallery is where visitors can see From A to V, the museum’s permanent exhibition exploring anatomy, health and activism.

Lucy’s Gallery is currently displaying The Museum of Mankind, an exhibition that draws attention to sexism and bias in the museum and archaeological world, while Anarcha’s Gallery is showing the exhibition Know Your Body Like Nobody Else: Cervical Screening.