sisters all...

i was reminded today of an article i read last month titled commodities and cages... i thought it fitting to share an excerpt this international womyn's day as a tribute to Betsy, Lucy, and Anarcha (and so many more) who were enslaved and brutalised in the 1800s...

"Montgomery Alabama 1846 -1853. Dr. J. Marion Sims (1813-1883) is now known as both “The Father of Gynecology” and “The Father of Vaginal Surgery”. Sims was born in South Carolina and practiced there, in Alabama, New York City, and throughout France. He is widely recognized for laying the foundations for modern gynecology, pioneering the use of surgical steel sutures, and developing several techniques in vaginal surgery. What is less known about Sims is “the fact that many of his accomplishments ….were obtained at the expense and the surgical exploitation of Black women”.

While Sims went to some length to hide his use of slave subjects, featuring white women in anatomy articles and texts, his primary research subjects were three female slaves – Betsy, Lucy, and Anarcha. He operated on each of these women as many as 30 times without anesthesia, believing that blacks did not have the same capacity for pain as whites. Sims even went so far as to purchase Anarcha in order to continue operating on her. In addition, he addicted all these women to opiates in order to facilitate their post-operative recovery and expedite another round of surgeries.

After moving to New York in 1853, Sims continued his exploitation of poor and African American women, exposing them to dangerous experimental surgeries at the Women’s Hospital of New York City. Describing the death of an African American woman after such a surgery, MacGregor (1998) writes:

“Clearly from Sims’ point of view, the life of the patient in this case was expendable. Her body in many ways had become his even before she died… While he placed his findings at the altar of science, her class and her race placed her at Sims’ disposal.”

Because these women were deemed less than human.

They were only animals, and above all, they were property."

their story is one of many echoes from the herstory of slavery, a reflection of the enslavement that exists today, those subjugated and brutalised now our sisters (and brothers) of other nations, other tribes - "because they are deemed less than human... they are only animals, and above all, they are property' ... you can read the full article "commodities and cages" on vine sanctuary's website...

back to the 60s...

I found this 1966 newspaper cutting amongst me mum's photos last time I went through them... it's from The Sun newspaper of June 1, 1966 - The Sun used to come out in the mornings, and The Herald came out in the afternoons... that was way before they merged in 1990... I couldn't resist posting it (sorry about the quality... paper's really, really fragile!!!)

this was how Judy (me mum) found out that me brother Darrell was wagging school (and had been for months!!!)... the article makes it sound like he was on a school excursion... being in the newspaper was a dead giveaway of not being at school!!!! but it was also a catalyst to finally getting out of the christian brothers college that he hated so much.... some of the 'brothers' and the 'sisters' could be violent people - and of course corporal punishment was allowed in the 60s!!!!

the column 50-50 (does that still exist in the Herald-Sun?? - I don't know, I don't read it!!) gives a 'window' into what concerned some people in 1966 - apparently whether bread should be baked and sold on Sundays was one of the issues... hard to imagine these days not being able to get bread on a Sunday, hey??!!!

and here's some of the music we were listening to in 1966... enjoy...

motherhood doesn't define us...

I came across a couple of photos of me mum in the 1950s so I thought I’d share them… they seemed appropriate after my 50s post…





I was reading a friend’s blog recently, and she has an extremely poignant post on mother’s day and motherhood which prompted me to include my thoughts on the topic.

When I was growing up the prevailing attitude was that young women wouldn’t be in the workforce for long… it was expected they would get married young and have children (always plural!!) – so no need for a career – (the post-war years added more pressure on women with their POPULATE OR PERISH paranoia!!!)

"Denied economic independence, unable to control their fertility adequately, and always aware of the reprobation which awaits the rebel, none but a handful of Australian women has had the opportunity to do any more than submit to living out their lives as dutiful wives and bountiful mothers; and having no alternatives and wanting some share of human happiness, they have accepted and enjoyed this as best they could." Anne Summers, "Damned whores and gods police"

Women were encouraged to believe that motherhood defined them as women… hey, sounds like now!!!! – we still hear those questions from all quarters – for young women - “when are you having children”, for older women it’s “how many children do you have”… that assumption – you’re female, so you must have offspring - so frustrating having to explain yourself all the time… as though it’s ‘freakish’!!!!

No matter what you do, whatever your reasons for not having children – there’s still an attitude that “you can’t possibly be a whole woman without children… you’re not complete…” - guess I don’t need to tell you I disagree!!!!

Whether by choice, because of fertility problems, or due to loss, the ‘sisters’ I know without children are extremely fulfilled individuals – beautiful, amazing, whole women!!! When will the blinkered perceptions change – when will women be accepted for themselves, without the ‘extension’ of partner or child – that will always only be for some!!!

And let’s face it – there has to be a limit to human habitation and the consequent pressure put on ‘the mother’… ‘she’s’ not faring well with the population now, the damage and destruction that’s been caused already!!!!

“Mother’s day” appears to be about making money rather than celebrating women as mother’s – seems to me it’s one big advertising and profit-making free-for-all.

And really, shouldn’t women be respected all year round??? Crimes and atrocities are committed against women every day of the year – I’d love to be able to celebrate the end of violence against women!!!! But alas……