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We need to reinvent the speculum: Smear tests, gynaecology and the hidden history of the pelvic exam

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4 months ago

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We need to reinvent the speculum: Smear tests, gynaecology and the hidden history of the pelvic exam

Cervical exams are vital yet for many, they can be a very tough experience. So why isn’t more done to change this? Here is why understanding the history of women’s health is key to the present

Pelvic exams are difficult experiences for many women. Photo: Getty

True story. After one too many physically and psychologically uncomfortable gynaecological appointments involving painful speculums and, memorably, a contraceptive cap becoming so lost inside her vagina it took two doctors — female, unsympathetic, no eye contact, talking over her like she was non-sentient — to fish it out, a woman puts off going for her regular smear tests. Can’t face them. She develops cervical cancer and needs a radical hysterectomy.

That woman was me, in the days before the HPV vaccine. (I survived, and would recommend a smear test over a hysterectomy any day). You’d wonder why, though, in the 21st century, adult women still have to deal with this kind of medieval pelvic exam involving cold metal and cold medics, bringing to mind David Cronenberg’s 1988 gynae-horror film Dead Ringers.

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