As I was reading the first part of Get Me Out by Randi Hutter Epstein, I realized a lot of things. When I began this book, I did not think I would enjoy it. I thought the book would be boring and I later found out that this book is the complete opposite of boring. This book is interesting and contains so much information that I didn’t even know about. I knew about the basics of a woman’s pregnancy, but I did not know about the different people who helped do the research for pregnancy.
One specific part of the book really intigued me. It was the part about how a man named J. Marion Sims “experimented” with teenage slave girls. Sims experimented during 1845 to 1849 on girls named Betsey, Anarcha, and Lucy. These experiments consisted of Sims putting his fingers where a girl doesn’t necessarily like them to be. What he did to the slaves was very painful. Sims knew that white women wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain, so he tried his experiments on slave girls. Towards the end of Chapter 3, the author, Randi Hutter Epstein, asks a few questions. “How do you regard a man who performed such freakish experiments, but still made great strides for women’s health? Is he a hero or a villain?” (pg.47). These questions made me think a lot. I believe that what he did to those women was quite abusive, but if he had never done what he did, women would still be suffering from painful injuries. Many scientists and doctors have done bad things, but so do we all. I am not saying that what Sims did was okay, but it helped better the medical field. Afterall, scientific research has affected pregnant mothers more than fads. Many people like to see the cold hard facts and that’s what Sims helped do. He helped show the world something new or as Sims puts it, “I felt sure I was on the eve of one of the greatest discoveries of the day” (pg.36). I believe science consists of many episodes of trial and error and Sims definetely showed that through his work. Eventually, Sims developed a name for himself because of his famous work. He is now known as the “Father of Gynecology”.
I cannot wait to continue on to reading part two of Get Me Out. So far, I am really enjoying the book. I hope to learn more about child birth and how it has evolved over the centuries.
StarPathDesign 
Like you I too thought that this book was boring at the beginning but I continued to read and found it very interesting.I thought the question that you asked at the beginning of your blog post “Is Sims a hero or a villain?” was a very good question. Sims was known for his medical achievements but it his inhumane and invasive experiments on slave females was not ok. I enjoyed reading your blog post and hearing your point of view. I hope you continue to enjoy the book and I look forward to reading your future blog post.
I really enjoyed reading and understanding your logic behind the question in which your entire blog post is based off of. From what I’ve read from your blog post and from what I’ve read in the book, I think that Sims is kind of like one of those people who does what he has to despite who it hurts. It makes him kind of like the Joker in my opinion. What he did/does was horrible at the moment, but further down the line if you think about it, his logic began to make sense. I really loved the way you flowed throughout this post, good job! -Enalisa B
Good job Sierra! Like you did, I was repulsed by what Sims did to girls who most likely did not consent to. I also thought that the book was going to be boring, but was surprised by how interesting it was. You went into depth about the gruesome facts of how we arrived today in the medical field. Did you agree about the discrimination of the people and the science?-Emma W.
Sierra your blog post is really good. Like you I also think that what Dr. Sim’s did was wrong and very painful. I saw how you put out your opinion and talked about in depth of how Dr. Sim’s did good yet bad. I agree with you because I also had this as a similar question and I defined Sim’s as neither a hero or a villain because his actions affected both ways not just one. Do you think hes neither like me or a certain one? I hope you continue to find the book interesting as you read.