The Politics of Hysterectomy

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Politics of Hysterectomy" | All Of It with Alison Stewart

Episode Details:

• Title: The Politics of Hysterectomy
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Guest: Andrea Becker, Author of Get It Out on the Politics of Hysterectomy
• Release Date: August 4, 2025
• Duration: Approx. 29 minutes

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Introduction

In this episode of All Of It, hosted by Alison Stewart, the spotlight is on the multifaceted topic of hysterectomy. Andrea Becker, a sociologist and author of Get It Out on the Politics of Hysterectomy, joins the conversation to delve into the historical, medical, and sociocultural dimensions of this prevalent gynecological surgery.

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Understanding Hysterectomy: Definitions and Misconceptions

Andrea Becker begins by clarifying common misconceptions surrounding hysterectomies. At [05:56], she explains:

"A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus and it can also, but doesn't necessarily also involve the removal of the ovaries and the cervix."

Becker emphasizes that many listeners confuse hysterectomy with vasectomy, which is specific to cisgender men. She highlights the lack of public understanding about what the procedure entails, which contributes to the stigmas and misconceptions surrounding it.

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Prevalence and Historical Context

Andrea Becker discusses the alarming statistics related to hysterectomies. At [02:49], she notes:

"When I was a doctoral student looking for a dissertation topic, I stumbled upon a really troubling statistic. At the time, one in three people born with a uterus would come to have it removed by the age of 65. But even though I was immersed in the reproductive health research areas, I realized that this conversation around hysterectomy was widely left out."

Becker traces the history of hysterectomy back to ancient Greece, highlighting how technological advancements have transformed it from a high-risk procedure to a more routine surgery with options like laparoscopic hysterectomy ([06:25]).

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Sociocultural Implications and Bias in Medical Practice

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the sociocultural dynamics influencing who gets a hysterectomy and why. At [12:36], Alison Stewart brings up a poignant story from Becker’s book:

"A black woman living in the south, who does not want children, experienced a conflict in the operating room where one surgeon wanted to remove her uterus against her wishes."

Becker elaborates on how race and gender biases play a critical role in medical decisions:

"You see that over and over where doctors are really keen on protecting white women's fertility, oftentimes protecting them from their own desires, and then pushing the same surgery on black and Latina women." ([12:47])

She attributes these disparities to entrenched structural inequalities and implicit biases within the healthcare system ([13:13]).

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Medical Advancements and Elective Nature of Hysterectomies

The conversation shifts to the evolution of hysterectomy techniques. Becker outlines the transition from high-risk, invasive surgeries to minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures, which have significantly reduced recovery time and complications ([06:17]).

Moreover, Becker discusses how hysterectomies are often categorized as elective procedures, even in cases involving severe health issues like endometriosis or fibroids. This classification can obscure the urgency and necessity felt by patients ([07:33]).

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Personal Stories and Callers’ Experiences

The episode features multiple callers sharing their personal experiences with hysterectomy, providing emotional and practical insights into the procedure's impact.

1. Rachel from Nyack ([08:59] - [10:12]):

   • Rachel, a 65-year-old retired healthcare professional, recounts her unwanted hysterectomy during a stressful divorce. She felt a lack of informed consent and agency in the decision-making process:

     "I never felt like I was informed, and I really feel like that's kind of weird." ([09:51])

2. Denise from Sunnyside ([14:09] - [15:32]):

   • Denise discusses the challenges of finding reliable information about the long-term effects of hysterectomy and her frustration with a dismissive healthcare professional when she raised concerns about potential risks like dementia.

3. Mark and Amanda ([16:27] - [25:32]):

   • Mark, a retired nurse, challenges the etymology of "hysterectomy," linking it to outdated and sexist medical terminology.
   • Amanda reflects on intergenerational perspectives, sharing her grandmother’s experience and her own contemplation about affirming womanhood without a uterus.

4. Danielle from Brooklyn ([22:47] - [23:09]):

   • Danielle talks about her proactive approach in opting for a myomectomy instead of a hysterectomy after extensive research, criticizing the limited options presented by her healthcare providers.

Each story underscores the diverse motivations and consequences behind choosing or resisting a hysterectomy, as well as the varying levels of agency patients possess in these decisions.

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Biomedicalization and Technological Fixes

Towards the end of the episode, Becker introduces the concept of biomedicalization in relation to hysterectomy ([27:26] - [29:38]). She describes hysterectomy as a “techno fix,” a term that encapsulates the use of medical technology to alter or "perfect" the body beyond merely treating disease. This perspective ties into broader societal trends of biohacking and the pursuit of optimal health through technological means.

Becker advocates for expanding the range of biomedical interventions available to women, ensuring that hysterectomy is not the sole solution for gynecological issues:

"We need to biohack the uterus in various other ways as well so that a hysterectomy isn't the only biohack at our disposal." ([27:38])

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Concluding Insights

Andrea Becker emphasizes the importance of decoupling gender identity from biological functions, challenging the notion that femininity is inherently tied to having a uterus ([26:54]). She shares:

"Some people felt more feminine after the uterus was removed because they were able to have freedom away from constant bleeding, constant pain." ([26:54])

The episode closes with Becker's call to reframe societal and medical narratives around hysterectomy, advocating for greater autonomy, informed consent, and diverse biomedical options for women and non-binary individuals.

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Key Takeaways:

• Prevalence and Accessibility: Hysterectomies are more common than widely recognized, with significant variations in access and recommendation based on race and gender identity.

• Sociocultural Biases: Medical decisions around hysterectomy are influenced by societal biases and structural inequalities, often disadvantaging women of color.

• Medical Evolution: Advancements in surgical techniques have made hysterectomy safer and more accessible, but the procedure remains controversial and emotionally charged.

• Personal Agency: Patients' experiences highlight the need for better-informed consent processes and respect for individual choices regarding their bodies.

• Biomedicalization: The trend of using medical technology to modify and perfect the body extends to hysterectomy, raising questions about autonomy and the range of available medical interventions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Andrea Becker [02:49]: "Around 600,000 hysterectomies are performed every year. It is the most common gynecological surgery worldwide."

• Andrea Becker [05:49]: "There are so many taboos and stigmas around these organs and the many functions that they have."

• Andrea Becker [14:58]: "We are still in the dark ages of understanding these organs and how to make sure they thrive, particularly outside of the realm of pregnancy and childbearing."

• Andrea Becker [27:37]: "Removing the uterus can be viewed as customizing or perfecting the body, but we need to biohack the uterus in various other ways as well."

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This episode of All Of It offers a comprehensive exploration of hysterectomy, intertwining medical facts with personal narratives to shed light on the complex politics surrounding this common yet deeply personal surgical procedure. Andrea Becker’s insights provide a critical lens through which listeners can understand the intersection of healthcare, gender, and societal norms.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful you're here. I hope you had a great weekend. I saw Susan Laurie Parks at Little island over the weekend. I saw Fantastic Four in the theater. Pedro Pascal, I love you. We also I went to the Met and I went to Barney Greengrass. I'm having a New York kind of summ, but I can tell already the travel bug is in me. So all week we're gonna kick off Travel Week here at all of It. And today we'll have a conversation about how to travel responsibly and ethically. It's very important. We'll also speak with neurologist Jesse Mez about the neurodegenerative brain disease known as cte. That is our plan. So let's get this started with medical sociologist Andrea Becker. A new book examines the history of the most common gynecological surgeries. It's titled Get it out on the Politics of Hysterectomy and it's by author and sociologist Andrea Becker. Did I get it right? ANDREA Becker, ANDREA Becker, Generally speaking, the surgery could be because of endometriosis, fibroids, uterine prolapse, gender dysfunction or poly ovary systemic PCOS for a procedure that goes back to ancient Greece. It's an area that Becker says has been widely understudied. Becker conducted 100 interviews with people who have considered or had a hysterectomy. The book also details the level of ease in which they were able to access the procedure while sharing what it meant for them, including their fertility and quality of life in the long run. Get it out on the Politics of Hysterectomy is out now. Joining us to discuss it is Andrea Becker. She's a sociologist, researcher, writer and assistant professor at Hunter College where she also teaches medical sociology and the sociology of the family. Welcome to all of it.

[Andrea Becker]

Thank you so much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here.

[Alison Stewart]

Listeners, we'd like to hear from you. Have you ever considered having a hysterectomy and why? When did you first learn about the procedure? What, what was the decision making process like? What were the barriers, medical, emotional, bureaucratic that shaped the outcome? Please call or text us 212-433-969-2212, wnyc. You may join us on air. You may text to us at that number as well. You can also reach out on social media. Llnyc why did you choose to write about hysterectomies?

[Andrea Becker]

So when I was a doctoral student looking for a dissertation topic, I stumbled upon a really troubling statistic. So at the time, one in three people born with a uterus would come to have it removed. By the age of 65, it is now around one in five. But even though I was immersed in the reproductive health research areas, even though I was immersed in reproductive justice advocacy group groups, I realized that this conversation around hysterectomy, widely left out of the conversation. Even experts in reproductive health and rights didn't really know how common hysterectomies are. As you mentioned at the top of the hour, around 600,000 hysterectomies are performed every year. It is the most common gynecological surgery worldwide, and it's discussed, if at all, as something horrible that you should avoid at all costs. When I got into the book, I wanted to understand the history of the procedure, how it is that it's so common, what it means to choose one, and what these conversations around, you know, a relatively small organ, it's around the size of a fist. How this one little organ reveals broader issues and inequalities in the US and abroad.

[Co-host]

Your research as a medical sociologist includes researching contested medical practices or elements of medicines that are imbued with polarizing cultural meanings. Those are your words.

[Andrea Becker]

Absolutely.

[Alison Stewart]

In an effort to create a survey of experiences, who did you reach out.

[Co-host]

To for the book, and where did you look?

[Andrea Becker]

Yes. So luckily and unluckily, it was during the pandemic, so we were all, you know, pretty bored inside our houses. And so I made a call for anyone who had had a hysterectomy or was considering one to speak with me over zoom. And so initially, you know, my university was concerned I wasn't going to find enough people to interview. But after a while, I had to actually turn people away. So many people reached out and wanted to speak to me. This. I interviewed 100 people. Around half of them have a chronic illness like endometriosis, fibroids, so on and so forth. And the other half are choosing or want a hysterectomy as part of transgender health care.

[Co-host]

Did they want to speak to you about their stories? Did they want to speak to you about the medical issues? What did people want to talk to you about?

[Andrea Becker]

All of it. There's so many taboos and stigmas around these organs and the many functions that they have. And so I found that people were really eager to. To talk about all of the invisible labor that they had been going through to have a healthy body, to have these healthy organs that their doctors, their peers, their parents, their friends all were minimizing the symptoms that they were experiencing, some of them for upwards of seven to 10 years before they were even able to get a diagnosis.

[Co-host]

As you talk to people, do people understand what a hysterectomy is like in the regular life?

[Andrea Becker]

Yeah, no, absolutely not. I think because it has the word his in it, people confuse it with a vasectomy. People think it has something to do with CIS men. But no, a hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus and it can also, but doesn't necessarily also involve the removal of the ovaries and the cervix.

[Co-host]

So what does the surgery entail for someone who has decided to undergo this procedure in terms of risks, duration, pain?

[Andrea Becker]

Yeah, certainly. So a hysterectomy used to be considered a last resort for terminally ill women because it was a very complicated surgery. It involved a large cross body incision, really high rates of mortality and complications. It was as, as high as 70% mortality rate as late as the late 1800s. But now we have what's called a laparoscopic hysterectomy. Much like other surgeries, there's been immense technological refinement with hysterectomy and it can now be performed with three to five, what are called keyhole incisions. The recovery time is much faster, the complication rates are lower, and because of this technological refinement, we come to this place where people might actually want a hysterectomy for themselves because it's so much simpler.

[Co-host]

You made an effort to include stories from trans non binary agender people who decide to have hysterectomies. Why was that important to include these perspectives to have a complete understanding of the subject?

[Andrea Becker]

Definitely. So for cisgender women, around 90% of hysterectomies are considered elective procedures. They're considered elective even if the person is undergoing immense pain and incessant bleeding. All sorts of issues. Elective. It's considered elective? Yes. Even my editor who worked on this with me was one of my editors, was undergoing uterine prolapse and it was still considered elective surgery. Right. And so part of the book gets into what it means to have an elective procedure. But then for trans people, a hysterectomy has long been deemed part of essential healthcare because for trans and non binary people who desire a hysterectomy, a Hysterectomy can be really life altering. You know, it reduce, it ceases menstruation, it removes the capacity for pregnancy, which a lot of people still consider to be very gendered. And so it can be very gender affirming, which is overall life saving as well.

[Co-host]

A new book explores the reasons why individuals choose or choose not to have a hysterectomy and who gets to have them as a part of it. Author Andrea Becker joins us to discuss her book titled Get it out on the politics of hysterectomy. We've got several calls, calls here. Great, let's take them. Let's talk to Rachel in Nyack. Rachel, thank you so much for making the time to call. All of it.

[Caller 1]

Yes, thank you. So I'm 65 years old and at about 50 I had some fibroids that were pretty large and, but it, you know, it wasn't. And at the time I was going through a really awful divorce and so I had no support and I didn't feel like I was taking in information very well. And I feel like now at 65 and I'm a very, I was in health, I was a healthcare professional and yet at 65 and, and I'm now retired but I'm disabled. But I, I started thinking, I really felt like there was never any discussion about this is your options, these are your options. It was just that you have these fibroids and we need to take your uterus out and it's best for us to take the ovaries out too. And I was such a psychological mess at the time that I was like, okay, if you know best. But I never felt like I was and I really feel like that's kind of weird.

[Co-host]

Yeah, yeah, I'm going to get in. Thank you so much for calling. You get into this in your book quite a bit.

[Andrea Becker]

Definitely, yes. So overwhelmingly a hysterectomy has come to be this catch all solution for anything that can go wrong with the uterus and the ovaries. And that's because we're essentially in the dark ages of understanding these organs and how to make sure they thrive, particularly outside of the realm of pregnancy and childbearing. And so, you know, this story is, I heard this over and over and over again where, particularly if women were older and it was also stratified by race, which we can get into, but a lot of the times it was presented as the only solution that people had or in the case of fibroids you could get what's called a myomectomy. So the removal of the fibroids themselves, but they might come back. And so the only permanent solution is to remove the uterus altogether.

[Co-host]

There was a story in your book.

[Alison Stewart]

About two doctors having a fight when.

[Co-host]

A woman was in surgery.

[Alison Stewart]

Would you share that story?

[Andrea Becker]

Absolutely, yes. So what I get into in the book is how who you are, what you look like, where you live, your citizenship status, all of these determine the degree of freedom you have over choosing a hysterectomy, much like these personal characteristics determine the degree of freedom you have to choose all reproductive health choices more broadly. And so what I found in the book was that younger white women and even older white women, late into their late 30s, they were told, you're too young to have a hysterectomy, you'll regret it. Let's do these other alternatives first. And then black and brown women were recommended a hysterectomy oftentimes before they ever desired one themselves. And so the story that you're mentioning is a woman who. She is a black woman living in the south, and she absolutely wants children. And her doctor knows that. Her doctor knew that at the time. And so she was undergoing a surgery to alleviate some of her pain and discomfort. And knowing that she does not want a hysterectomy, she wants to be able to gestate a healthy pregnancy. And she found out afterwards that there was this altercation in the OR where one of the surgeons wanted to remove the uterus to make her life better. So she said, and the other doctor knew, no, this patient wants her uterus. She doesn't want a hysterectomy. Let's not remove it.

[Alison Stewart]

And the idea that that was a conversation.

[Andrea Becker]

Yes, yes.

[Alison Stewart]

Even though she had specific rules for what she wanted the outcome to be.

[Andrea Becker]

Absolutely. And we see that over and over where doctors are really keen on protecting white women's fertility, oftentimes protecting them from their own desires, and then pushing the same surgery on black and Latina women.

[Alison Stewart]

On the flip side, doctors job is.

[Co-host]

To do no harm.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you think they're just not being trained or do you think it's bias they have?

[Andrea Becker]

So I think it's many things. So I do believe that doctors are acting out of a desire to do the best for their patients, that doctors want to do the best they can, but they do live and practice medicine amid these broader structural inequalities and biases, amid these structural racism in healthcare and beyond. And so, you know, even within medical training, there are biases entrenched into medical textbooks. Many sociologists and public health researchers have examined these biases. And so, you know, we think of healthcare as this objective practice of, you know, biology. But oftentimes the decisions that doctors are making are based on cultural and social reasons as well.

[Co-host]

Let's talk to Denise, who is calling in from Sunnyside. Hi, Denise, thank you for taking the time to call, all of it. You're on the air.

[Caller 2]

Hi, I'm calling because I am fascinated about this conversation. I had been recommended a hysterectomy, partial uterus only because of fibroids. And, you know, I was inclined to follow that advice. But I also kind of wanted to do some research independently. And when I did, I kind of found some, you know, data that, you know, suggested that maybe, for instance, dementia is slightly higher among women who have had one. And so I raised it to my doctor. She didn't, she kind of poo pooed it and didn't really have any information about it. And so I just, you know, I'm taking my time because I feel like there's not a lot of information about, you know, any of the long term effects of what this would do. And I'm curious as to what your guest has to say about that.

[Andrea Becker]

Absolutely. So we think about the uterus as primarily an organ for pregnancy and that reflects the way we think about women's bodies. The sociologist Brenda Wagner has referred to this process as viewing women on a zero trimester of pregnancy. Always women and girls are always one day pregnant. Eventually they will be pregnant. And so this idea is really reflected in healthcare where we primarily view these bodies and these organs as related to pregnancy. And there are so many gaps in the research regarding the other functions of these organs and what happens when they're removed.

[Co-host]

My guest is author Andrea Becker. She's joining us to discuss her book titled Get it out on the Politics of Hysterectomy. Listeners, we would love to hear from you. Have you ever considered having a hysterectomy and why? When did you first learn about the procedure? What was the decision making, decision making process like? Our numbers are 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. You can call in and join us on air or you can text to us at that number. We'll have more after a quick break. This is ALL of it. You are listening to ALL OF IT on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart.

[Alison Stewart]

My guest in studio is Andrea Becker.

[Co-host]

She is the author of Get it out on the Politics of Hysterectomy.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk To Mark, who is calling in. Hey, Mark, thank you so much for making the time to call all of it. You are on the air.

[Caller 3]

Oh, hi.

[Caller 1]

Can you hear me?

[Alison Stewart]

I hear you. Great.

[Caller 3]

Okay, great. Yeah, my comment was just something kind of. It's a little off topic, but I was. I'm a retired nurse, and when I was in nursing school, they said that the reason it's called a hysterectomy is because it's actually essentially the uterus that's removed, but that it was the hysterical part of a woman is what they thought years ago, which I thought was incredibly outrageous not to name it. What it is, I believe, is just the uterus ectomy. Or is that too simple? Is there more involved there? But anyway, so just wanted to discuss the. History can be called that.

[Andrea Becker]

Definitely. And this is not off topic at all. I actually have a whole chapter devoted to this. And so you. Yeah. Readers will or listeners will notice that hysteria and hysterectomy sound very similar. And it's because they do share etymological roots. And so hysteria was this idea, you know, dating back to ancient Greece. But we see it across cultures and across time, and it's this idea that anything that could be wrong with a woman's body, with a woman's personality was due to her uterus and especially this idea of a wandering womb, that if a woman failed to have children, failed to get married and fulfill these, you know, gendered expectations, her uterus would be loose and wandering around the body looking for unborn children. Yeah, and you laugh. We think of it so crazy. But, you know, this idea was used to institutionalize women in the US even as late as the 1950s. So hysteria really has deep roots in medicine, and we continue to see, you know, tendrils of it.

[Co-host]

Let's talk to Olivia from the Lower east side. Hi, Olivia, you're on the air.

[Caller 1]

Yes.

[Caller 4]

Hi there. So I was told many, many years ago that I needed a hysterectomy because I was having irregular periods, big blood clots, had fibroids, this and that, and hysterectomy was recommended. And I told my doctor I did not want a hysterectomy, that I did not have a history of cancer in my family. And was there something else? And I got. No, no, no, no, no. And anyway, did some research and found out that there was this doctor that's doing a procedure called an endometrial ablation, which is done, you know, arthroscopically, and he did it. I had no scars. I never had Another period again, or a problem. The reason they don't tell you about this is because it's a little more complicated and probably costly. But it left me with all of my organs intact, and it was fine, no problems.

[Co-host]

Thank you for calling in.

[Alison Stewart]

How often are people that you spoke.

[Co-host]

With presented with an alternative way beyond a hysterectomy to deal with a problem they might have?

[Andrea Becker]

So there are definitely alternatives. It just requires multiple visits. And so endometriosis comes up a lot in my book. And for endometriosis, for listeners that don't know, it's these really horrible tumors that can. It's similar to the uterine lining, and they start to grow anywhere in the body and cause a lot of pain and chaos. And oftentimes you don't see it in scans. And so it's difficult to. To even diagnose it. And so when it comes to endometriosis, you can get it surgically removed through excision surgery, but then it can continue to grow back with fibroids. You can get myomectomies and remove it, but again, it can come back. So we really don't know how to permanently bring relief for a lot of these issues, including adenomyosis. That's when the growths happen inside the uterine wall and it warps the organ. And the cure for that is a hysterectomy. And so, you know, there are alternatives, and some people definitely want to try those alternatives. But eventually, some people become tired and say, no, let's just get it out. You know, I've gone through so many surgeries. I've gone on one, you know, a dozen different birth control options. I just want this organ out of me. And so the book gets into some of these stories, how we focus so much on hysterectomy as a source of grief and regret. But hysterectomy can also bring delight and joy. And a lot of the people I spoke to were absolutely thrilled to be able to have this surgery, and it absolutely changed their lives.

[Co-host]

How so? How they changed their lives.

[Andrea Becker]

So, you know, one woman told me that she was bleeding around half of the year. Just, it's. In the medical terms, it's called unexplained pelvic bleeding. So we don't have explanations for it. She was experiencing a lot of pain. You know, going to school was difficult. Keeping up with her schoolwork, having a job was difficult. Even her social life was difficult because she never knew when she would suddenly be in pain or when she would need to control heavy bleeding. And so by removing this uterus altogether, she can plan a vacation and not worry, oh, is this during my menstrual period? Will I not even be able to enjoy it? And so removing this organ altogether can bring a lot of that psychological relief where you're no longer planning your whole life around this organ and the. The chaos that it can bring you, that logistical burden that it can inflict upon you.

[Co-host]

Let's talk to Danielle, who's calling from Brooklyn. Hi, Danielle. Thank you so much for making time to talk to us at all of it. You're on the air.

[Caller 2]

Hi, Allison. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to talk to you. Eight years ago, I had a large fibroid that was causing these problems, and I had done a ton of research, and I just wanted it removed. And I found that so many doctors were like, just cut it out through a picture on the exam board of what the surgery would be like.

[Caller 5]

And I had done my own research.

[Caller 2]

And I was not satisfied that I would be okay without it. And I didn't think I needed it. And I was just really disappointed by. Especially a lot of female doctors who were just sort of suggesting to cut it out. And then I. What I also didn't like was I was described as having. As being six months pregnant as a description for my fibroid. And I thought if I had wanted to have children. What a bizarre way to sort of, you know, describe it. And eventually, I had a myomeectomy.

[Co-host]

Yes, Daniel, you know what? You're really breaking up. We have a really bad connection, but we got the gist of what you were saying. Thank you for calling in. We do appreciate it, though. I do want to talk to Amanda in the Bronx on line eight. Can we talk to Amanda? Hi, Amanda, are you there?

[Caller 1]

Yeah. Yes, hi.

[Caller 5]

I'm here. Thank you so much.

[Co-host]

Let's hear your story.

[Caller 5]

Yeah, so I really, really enjoyed this conversation, especially about just, like, how it personally affects, like, everybody and how some stories are, like, similar and different.

[Caller 2]

My.

[Caller 5]

My grandmother, she had eight children, and she ended up getting a hysterectomy, like, not too long after her eighth. And I remember her speaking to me about it. She's like, she's about to be 81 now, and she would talk about it and say, like, you know, it's out. Like, you know, but it's also a lot to deal with the fact that it's out now. Like, you know, some hormonal. Hormonal. Excuse me, imbalances, like, you know, maybe hirsuism. Some, like, Difficulty with like emotional regulation because of the uterus also being like housing those hormones that also affect our like emotional well being as well. And now that I'm 26 and I'm thinking about it, I just kind of want to reframe that around maybe, you know, the, the uterus being like less of a conduit for like womanhood and what that could mean even if like me having like endometriosis and pcos, maybe later down the line getting that taken out, being like comfortable in womanhood even without a uterus.

[Andrea Becker]

Absolutely. So the only sociological book that has been devoted to hysterectomy is actually called Am I Still a Woman? And it's over 20 years old at this point. But it does reflect this idea that without a uterus, how can a woman even feel feminine? Right. And so we have made a lot of strides away from that biological essentialism. So of course some people really find femininity and womanhood by having this organ and by through their ability to have pregnancy and be mothers. But this is not the case for everyone who has these organs. Not everyone, you know, views their womanhood solely through a reproductive lens or solely through having a uterus. And in fact, some of the people I spoke to told me they felt more feminine after the uterus was removed because they were able to have freedom away from, you know, constant bleeding, constant pain. It was interfering with their relationships, with their sex lives. And so by having this organ and it diseases removed from her body, she actually felt more feminine. And so the book really gets into the various ways that people can experience their bodies, can experience gender, and how, you know, we are continuously decoupling gender from bodies.

[Alison Stewart]

This text says I am now a.

[Co-host]

Post menopausal black woman who resisted aggressive demands from white male doctors to have my uterus removed because of my fibroids and heavy bleeding. Before menopause.

[Alison Stewart]

I was once told that I didn't have a uterus. And another time I was told I wasn't using it anymore. So why keep it? I resisted.

[Co-host]

Thankfully after menopause I had no issues. The fibroids have shrunk and I am healthy. We are glad to hear that you.

[Alison Stewart]

Are healthy as well. There's one thing I really want to.

[Co-host]

Discuss before we run out of time.

[Alison Stewart]

The biomedicalization of this world you get into. This is really, really interesting. In the book that some people refer to a hysterectomy as a techno fix. Will you explain this?

[Co-host]

Because this was wild.

[Andrea Becker]

Absolutely, yes. So medicine used to be primarily the practice of removing disease of Preventing immediate death. Right? But now with these vast medical advancements, we can use medicine to customize or improve or perfect the body. You can think of things like cochlear implants or robotic limbs or cosmetic surgery, even ivf. These various medical practices can be used not only to remove disease, but to for social and cultural purposes as well. Right. And you know, we also see this more broadly in the way that we are all obsessed with our, you know, we wear Apple watches, we wear Fitbits, where we want to track the minute by minute biometrics of our body to make sure we're as healthy as possible. We see this in Silicon Valley, this idea of biohacking the human body to be as healthy, whatever health means anymore, vibrant as possible. And so in the book, I get into how removing the uterus can be viewed in this light as biohacking the body. If the uterus is causing so much pain and discomfort, removing it can actually be viewed as customizing or perfecting the body. But I would also argue that we need to biohack the uterus in various other ways as well so that a hysterectomy isn't the only biohack at our disposal.

[Co-host]

There's so much to discuss in the book. The name of it is Get it out on the Politics of Hysterectomy. It is by author Andrea Becker. Thank you for being with us. Thank you very much.

[Andrea Becker]

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. This was great.

[Co-host]

And thanks so much to our callers.

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