Monument to the Father of Gynecology and Experimenter on Enslaved Women (In Transition)
New York, New York
According to his monument, James Marion Sims (known as "Father of Gynecology") was a great guy -- even though most people today regard him as an inhuman monster. He's evil because all of his early practical experience on female diseases -- the techniques he developed and the instruments he devised -- came from crude experiments on enslaved women in Alabama. Some of his patients underwent as many as thirty operations, and Sims, who believed that African-Americans could tolerate pain better than whites, never used anesthesia. When he moved from the Deep South to New York City, he continued his experiments on poor Irish immigrant women, whom he regarded as similarly expendable. The wealthy, white, non-Irish upper class benefited from his experience and knowledge, and while the gynecological perks did eventually trickle down to almost everyone, they didn't until long after he was dead.
There's no mention of gynecology on Sims' Victorian-era monument, because at the time the subject was considered taboo. The inscription reads:
"J. Marion Sims M.D. 1813-1883. Surgeon and philanthropist, founder of the Women's Hospital, State of New York. His brilliant achievement carried the fame of American surgery throughout the entire world. In recognition of his services in the cause of science and mankind. Awarded highest honors by his countrymen and decorations from the governments of Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal."
