field notes: session 2
This week we held our first online session with the Wellcome Collection team. The aim of the session was to continue getting to know each other and start sharing some of the material that we’ve been researching since the summer. In an ideal world we’d have had much more time to do introductory activities, but our time together is limited, and there are pros and cons to the fact that half the group already know each other from the Whose Menopause? project (more on this below).
We started the 90-minute session with a quick ‘getting to know you’ activity, to remind each other of our pronouns and to share a ‘moment of joy’ from the week. I’m conscious that some of our conversations and content will potentially be ‘heavy’ with this work. So I’m trying to build some positivity and fun into our discussions where I can.
We shared our ‘homework’ from the last session – an article, headline, idea or thought about gynae and why it resonated (or not) and to share what we were hoping to get out of our time together. Everyone contributed to this, including myself and the Wellcome team. Although it’s impossible to have a truly ‘equal’ power dynamic, as with all my socially engaged work I try and keep it collaborative and inclusive as much as possible.
The Wellcome team informally presented some ‘teaser’ images and stories to pique the interest of the group. The aim was to share a range of items that represent different themes so that we could collectively work out where we should focus our efforts for the in-person day at the Wellcome Collection in London on 14 December.
We started with plants and specifically Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris – its Latin name suggests its use in the treatment of women’s ailments, with Alchemilla a reference to alchemy, the early form of pharmacy). Plants are a good starting point for gynae discussions as these were historically important for all treatment. Even Lady’s mantle suggests its use in helping with women’s conditions. You might recognise this plant in your garden – it has clusters of greenish yellow flowers, which were used as an anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, menstrual regulator. With the historical narrative all around the core purpose of women being child-bearers, this plant was one seen as important to ensure reproduction and also helped ‘tone the uterus’ during childbirth. It was made as an infusion by boiling it in water, and it’s still recommended by herbalists today as an external wash for vaginal infections.
Alchemilla vulgaris (Lady's mantle) | Wellcome Collection
The team showed one of Charles Estienne’s woodcut illustrations. He was an early supporter of the science of anatomy and his family were printers. This image is from a French manual on dissection that re-used original blocks from an erotic work (called ‘The Lovers of the Gods’) and then inserted gynae surgical tools over the top to replace ones that were cut out. A syringe that you can see in the image was used to inject solutions into the vaginal area and the fumigator seen on the floor was wafted around the vaginal area to help shift or control whatever was identified as troubling (usually the womb). It’s an unusual image for the time because the female body is pictured lying on pillowed beds or sitting on stools with their legs apart. He labels the clitoris the ligula (Latin for tongue): a term that's not really used anymore but has interesting connotations.
De dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres (1545)
I’ve learned that knowledge of gynae anatomy was still not very accurate in the 18th century. Doctors thought that menstruation was designed to rid the female body of excess fluids and that menstrual blood had special powers. Uterine prolapse is when the uterus falls into the vaginal canal and sometimes protrudes through – this may have led to the idea that the womb moved around – and was treated by suspending a patient upside down from a ladder or wrapping magic stones in the skin of sacrificial animals as a protector for the fetus and childbirth. Women’s bodies were not readily available for dissection. They were sometimes obtained but this was often done illegally through grave robbing. Dissection had to be done quickly and avoided in the summer months due to the heat. Anatomist-illustrators looked to tropes from antiquity as models for developing their images. The Wellcome team brought one of Gautier’s prints. He worked with an anatomist to produce his work but claimed to do his own dissections. His images sensationalised the female body, and are far from accurate visualisations of the internal female body: they are idealised illustrations representing the beauty of "God's handiwork". Young women in their reproductive years were particularly prized for study, and the colourful prints are a reminder of the historical narrative that the only purpose of women’s gynae was to reproduce.
We looked at A surgeon or gynaecologist examining a woman with a vaginal speculum. Drawing by Félicien Rops. | Wellcome Collection. This image shows the way that women’s bodies were dehumanised. It’s also a reminder about the stigma and shame that exists around gynae – including STI’s and the notorious lock hospitals.
Limbs, breasts, heads, ears, penises, intestines, feet and hands – in fact any body part in need of healing – were all popular anatomical votive offerings in the Greco-Roman period. These were often left at the temple of a healing god such as Asklepios, the god of healing and medicine. But unlike other kinds of sculptural offerings from the classical world, these types of votives were rarely accompanied with inscriptions, but instead were literal representations of an individual’s needs cast in clay or carved in marble, made in the hope of receiving a cure or perhaps as thanks for one. Votive genitalia were acquired deliberately by Henry Wellcome to reflect ancient approaches to sexuality, as well as cultural religious practices. He displayed them prominently in his museum on Wigmore street – other museums considered them too risque and kept them in segregated areas with restricted access. Wellcome classified these votives within the ‘Religio-Medico’ collection alongside other objects which demonstrated the universal practice of dedicating something to a deity in thanks or in appeal for an issue relating to health or the body. This example is one of a collection that originated from an excavation of the 1860s north of Naples.
https://museumcrush.org/anatomical-votive-offerings-of-the-greco-roman-world/
We also started looking at some of the more contemporary materials held by Wellcome related to sex, pleasure and intimacy. These raise issues of what is seen and unseen; language used and people’s understanding of their own bodies. These included:
Postcard advertising issue 4 of Quim magazine, an erotic publication for lesbians
My vulva and I : a vulva diversity project / created by Lydia Reeves. | Wellcome Collection.
Process reflections
These field notes are primarily designed for me to reflect on the nuts and bolts of what it takes to pull this type of project together and to help improve my socially engaged practice. Two notable things to consider after session two were:
Following a request by me for any feedback/additional ideas after the session, one of the group members queried whether they could add some extra things into our ‘how to work together’ list. It reminded me how important time is in the early stages of a socially engaged project. Although we’ve fast-tracked the ‘getting to know you’ element of this project (due to time and the fact that some of the members already know each other from Whose Menopause?), it’s important that everyone feels seen and able to shape that list of boundaries.
The member’s feedback on content (e.g. more content and facilitated discussion around genderqueer experiences) also highlighted the restrictions of delivering online (as I didn’t do enough scene setting in my facilitation). Although I’m experienced with online facilitation (and feedback about my approach has been positive), I wouldn’t want to deliver a project 100% online (like the Covid-19 days!). I find that people tend to wait until they can speak, it’s difficult to hear when people naturally speak over each other, and it just feels more awkward. I’m already starting to think how the creative sessions that I’m hoping to deliver after the R&D will work, with everyone dialling in from all over the country. I think we’ll need to put another get-together in the mix.
It’s a good thing that there are people in the group who know each other already from Whose Menopause? but on the flipside this is a challenge. We’ve had to ensure the new joiners feel included in a ready-made group. Hopefully they will start to feel more at home when we all meet in person in London.
Care is central to this work. From the language we use, to the pre-information shared with our group members, and the content warnings we’ve given. I’ll talk more about care in my field notes for session three. Behind the scenes there’s been a lot to consider, especially safeguarding of group members when travelling independently to London.
[With thanks to the Wellcome team for supporting information on the items shared.]
Image on preview: Unique cyanotype (test piece) toned in sage, made from original digital image from the collection. Double spoon-bowl obstetric speculum. Wellcome Collection..Source: Wellcome Collection.
This participatory research and socially engaged project is being delivered in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection.