Lesbian and queer hysterectomy resources
Anna Sansom (she/her/they/them) is a queer writer, health researcher and editor. Anna had a hysterectomy in 2024 and struggled to find information that was relevant to her as a queer person. Following their experience, they created some resources that could support other lesbian and queer folk going through hysterectomy and recovery.
Anna has published several pieces of intimate writing on their substack (letters from the edgelands) as well as an article for Open Secrets Magazine Will My Sex Life Be Lost When I No Longer Have a Uterus?.
“I bargained with the gynecologist over the fate of my cervix. Removing it, he told me, and the resulting vaginal cuff (where they sew up the top of the vagina, creating a stitched tube to nowhere) would be more of an issue if I were having heterosexual penetrative sex.
Oh, I thought, are you assuming that my wife and I don’t fuck? That my sex life is limited solely to outercourse? Or do you mean that a man can’t be trusted with his penis? That a post-operative, cervix-absent vagina is not at risk from penetration per se, but is in danger if there’s an inconsiderate dick in the picture?”
Anna has also developed a zine - you can download it here - and the rest of Anna’s writing about her hysterectomy, including her video, is collected on her website.
“My uterus has never been a womb. It’s never carried a baby and I’ve never wanted it to. I’m not attached to it as some emblem of my femininity or womanhood (neither of those terms resonate with me either). I’ve never thought of myself as having a “reproductive system,” but I do very much regard this part of me as sexual.”
Anna’s video Lesbian and Queer Hysterectomy covers the decision to have a hysterectomy, questions to ask, planning for surgery, being in hospital and recovery and healing after hysterectomy (including timescales, getting back to work, driving, and having sex). Anna’s surgery was not related to a cancer diagnosis, however the resources are useful for anyone who faces this surgery.
Anna has also developed a zine - you can download it here - and the rest of Anna’s writing about their hysterectomy, including their video, is collected on her website.