Hysterectomy

The uterus is the organ in which new life comes into being. It is the innermost space of the female body — a space of creation, of shelter, of pure possibility. When this organ is removed, something final occurs: a part of the body most intimately bound to the deepest female identity is taken out. Medically there are clear reasons for this — fibroids, endometriosis, bleeding, precancerous conditions. These reasons are real and must be taken seriously.

And yet a question arises that goes beyond the surgical report: what does it mean when the body surrenders — or must surrender — precisely this organ? What does it tell us about a woman's relationship to her own femininity, to her creative power, to the space within her that can hold life?

The hysterectomy is not only a surgical procedure, but often the final act of a long story — a story in which the feminine was not permitted to be safe.