Before my hysterectomy, I did not feel I really had time to prepare myself. I received a call on March 19 for an operation scheduled on April 11. In between, there was not really any room to think it through or to back out easily.

I wanted to talk about my surgery, because some experiences deserve to be told without polishing them too much.

Hysterectomy, defined as the surgical removal of the uterus, is generally considered within a biomedical discourse focused on pathology, therapeutic indication, and clinical effectiveness. Yet such an approach tends to obscure the social and symbolic dimensions of this organ. In anthropology, the body is never purely biological: it is also the product of cultural constructions, social norms, and power relations.