[BACKGROUND INFORMATION: I recommend reading an article or two in order to familiarize yourself on the topic of J. Marion Sims. I've provided the citation for the favorite one I've read at the bottom of this post. I am especially fond of it, because it examines the issue without demonizing Sims, but without freeing him from any sort of blame; I think it could be considered as objective an article on the topic as can be expected by anyone.]
I saw what I fondly think of as My Valentine of 2011 while I was driving home from a friend's house late at night. Sometimes, I'll go somewhere to study where I can be supervised and held accountable for completing my work on time, which is why I found myself driving back to my building around 4:00 in the morning. I took the route that would put me past the SC Statehouse, since I prefer more heavily trafficked roads at night.
There was a big banner on the Statehouse! It was black and covered up the back portion of a monument, so that the banner faced the street. I couldn't read exactly what it said, because it [sadly] had been blown by the wind (that's an assumption; perhaps the people putting it up had to run or something), so it was folded over. I got out of my car -- a scary thing for me to do alone, so late at night -- and pulled the banner this way and that, trying to read it:
"RESPECT OUR CUNTS. MEMORIALIZE VICTIMS, NOT SIMS." ...Or something along those lines.
I was so happy that I pulled over to snap some pictures, and as soon as I got home, I called a local TV station and sent the pictures to them via e-mail. [I only watch TV online, so I can't tell you whether or not they aired any footage on the subject.] In the pictures, I tried to show that Persons X had put the banner on the back of the bust dedicated to J. Marion Sims. It gets even better: On the front, there were "bloody" rags all over the bust. They reeked, so I think the "blood" was of some tomato-based product.
I thought that this was a great way to put civil/women's rights out there, even though my guess is that the stuff was gone 6:00 the next morning, because I'm sure that legislators didn't want tomato juice and angry banners all over the corner of their property. If you ask me, the best way to go about such tasks is always to avoid violence. Make people angry, but not at you -- it's a call to action, not an act of terrorism, and it's important to keep that in mind. In this case, the individuals even found a way that doesn't damage public property, meaning that my tax dollars don't end up paying very much to have something great (the banner, etc.) removed from something awful (the monument to Sims, whereas there is no monument to his victims, which is the killer for me). Now, that's not to say that my tax dollars go toward anything useful, like education, but oh well. One thing at a time.
Apparently South Carolinians aren't the only ones who are irritated about monuments to Sims, either. For more information, go to the link that FFF [Favorite Feminist Friend, from my last post] excitedly sent me on Valentine's Day: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/slave_doc_knocked_off_pedestal_JaPp8BXZiGviJ65kH0A8iM
Neat.
In campus news -- and I was very excited about this -- there were a bunch of red balloons next to a residence hall named [drumroll, please] Sims. Okay, Red Balloons near the Women's Dorm, no big deal...except for the fact that they said things like "WHO WAS J. M. SIMS?" and "POP ME TO LEARN!" On the ribbons that tied the balloons to each other and to various objects were papers, and on the papers were facts about Sims, portraying him in the negative light that he should have earned. When you popped the balloons [I popped one just to celebrate, even though I knew who Sims was!], you were met by a flurry of red glitter and another, rolled-up fact about Sims that had been placed inside the balloon.
In a world where I'm discouraged almost every day by attacks on Women's Rights, it's good to see that I'm not the only one who cares enough to take some action. As I told FFF, "If my heart could sing right now, it would."
And as promised, here's the citation:
Sartin, J. (2004). J. Marion Sims, the Father of Gynecology: Hero or Villain? Southern Medical Journal (97)5, 500-505. doi: 0038-4348/04/9705-0500.
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