BELLY OF THE BEAST: FILM REVIEW
In September of 2020, a whistleblower shared that many women housed in the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers had been sterilized against their will. Though this made waves in the news at the time, no public legal action has been taken to stop the eugenic sterilization of immigrant women in the United States since the discovery. Outrage ensued, but months later, there has been no public statement of legal action and no wider discussion of how eugenics operates in the United States. In the United States, sterilization of the “feeble-minded” was a common practice that was written into explicit law through the Supreme Court decision in Buck v Bell. The state used “Feeble-minded” as a euphemism for the disabled, the poor, or anybody else that they deemed as unfit for reproduction. Its legacy carried through to the racist, eugenicist rhetoric of 80s “welfare queens” and 2000s “anchor babies.” Buck v Bell has never been overturned, though involuntary sterilization has been made illegal in some piecework legislation. Belly of the Beast, a 2020 documentary by Erika Cohn, documents the path toward passage of SB1135, a bill that banned non-consensual sterilization in California prisons after a large number of incarcerated women came forward with allegations that doctors had stolen their reproductive capacity without their assent.
In Belly of the Beast, Cynthia Chandler explains that cases on behalf of the incarcerated often struggle to find legal representation, as there is very little money to connect inmates with representation, and the chances of winning are slim. This lack of money permits injustice to continue unless there is a case so egregious that lawyers take it on pro bono. This 2020 documentary details the fight against non-consensual sterilization in California prisons, told through the lens of the work of Justice Now, an organization that works toward prison abolition alongside those who live and work in prison.
Told from the perspective of Kelli Gibson, a woman who won $0 in damages for a non-consensual sterilization performed on her while she was imprisoned, Belly of the Beast is an unflinching look at the way that the medical establishment, carceral system, and wider society have limited women’s agency and ability to pursue the lives they dream of. Gibson was told she would experience a hysterectomy only if she had cancer present – no cancer was present, and Gibson didn’t learn she had had a hysterectomy until after she left the prison system and saw another doctor. From here, she set out to build community with other women who had experienced similar things – dozens of women suffered at the hands of a small set of doctors in California women’s prisons. On their behalf, Gibson testifies in court for a second round to fight for the passage of SB1135.
The documentary eschews neat narratives or simple resolutions and instead focuses on the complex humanity of Chandler and Gibson. Chandler, a white woman who grew up in punk subcultures and recognized her class and racial privilege early on, is an accomplice through and through, eventually to the detriment of her own personal well-being. Gibson shows immense strength and willingness to fight and makes clear how the eugenic underpinnings of sterilizations were the basis for misguided claims that prevented her from living the full life she envisioned for herself after leaving the carceral system. She makes it clear how domestic abuse contributed to her presence in prison, and this set off a chain of traumatic events that could have been prevented if support and understanding for domestic abuse victims were stronger.
Belly of the Beast is part of eugenics history, part legal drama, and part thoughtful documentary – the mix keeps the viewer engaged throughout and inspires one to investigate the way eugenics functions in their own community. It keeps a sense of interest without an exploitative gaze and has utmost respect and urgency for its subject material.