Living under Lies

           Throughout human history, people have faced racism, sexism, and the inequality of social classes. Even though today’s society has become less judgmental, we still can see the inequality of people as a flagrant imbalance in society. Wherever we go, inequality will continue to exist as long as human beings live in this world; however, the ways in which we treat each other have been improving over the years. The most important issue we face in inequality has always been racism, a belief that certain races as superior or inferior to each other. Holocaust survivor, author, and human rights activist Elie Wiesel once said, “No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.” Often based solely on skin color, segregation and other unfair policies have been a painful part in our society. Such inequality stems from judgment and hatred of people based on an arbitrary physical quality. For example, African Americans have long faced the challenges of discrimination.  Another inequality issue in our society is social class, based on the status of income. As rich people become richer and poor people grow poorer, unfair treatment is inevitable as the wealthy do not see the poor as their equals. We can see those sociological theories interrelate through reading Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which reveals truths concerning cancer research and medicine in the scientific world, but also provides readers opportunities to view the interconnection between the inequality Lacks’ family faces and humanity sociologically.  
            From a sociological perspective, we can see racism arise as a major issue in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. The book discusses the life of Henrietta Lacks, recognized as the savior in the medical world, who experienced many hardships as a result of her identity. According to Chapter 9, “You May Ask Yourself”, Dalton Conley defines racism as “the belief that members of separate races possess different and unequal trait”(327) and applies the theory to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which takes place in the 1950s, when discrimination was prevalent in American society. Henrietta Lacks was lucky to receive treatments at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which did offer treatment to black people, but segregated them from white patients. Because of racism, there was limited healthcare available to people of color.  In the 1950s, segregation was law and black people could not question white people’s judgments without being seen as defying the law, so “many black patients were just glad to be getting treatment …since discrimination in hospitals was widespread” (Skloot 64). Even though Lacks received the same treatments as white people, the studies have shown that black patients were treated and “hospitalized at later stages” than white patients. Lacks’s doctor assured her she was fine, but she still felt “discomfort”; however, the doctor told her there was no evidence of reason for her discomfort. Because of her racial identity, her doctor did not provide the same treatment he would have given a white patient, causing Lacks her more pain and causing tumor to spread.

Acting without an individual’s consent because of his or her racial status portrays the extent of racism as well as how that racism can cause certain colored people to lose faith in the fairness of society. In his article, “The Souls of Black Folk”, author W.E.B. Du Bois mentions that in America “the black man’s turning hither and thither in hesitant and doubtful striving has often made his very strength to lost effectiveness, to seem like absence of power” (224), giving the idea that black people felt hopeless and uneducated in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. After Lacks died of cancer, scientists used her cells to approach a new discovery for not only cancer treatments, but also a major breakthrough in scientific history. After finding Lacks’s cells were effective, the scientists continued using her cells over the world without her consent for more than 50 years. In the 1990s after the civil rights movement, Lacks began to receive respectful attention for her contribution. When Sonny and Bobbette are in Lawrence’s living room, they were incensed by Johns Hopkins Hospital’s selling of Lacks’s cells over the world for millions in profit. Lawrence felt it was unfair that “if [his mother] so important to science, why can’t [they] get health insurance?” (Skloot 168) Because the Lacks family lived in poverty, especially when coupled with racial discrimination, they were unable to obtain health insurance. However, they felt that they should be offered health insurance at least because of their mother’s cells. Facing the strong discrimination against black people of the time, the Lacks felt the inequity in society affected them in a tangible way. The sociological theory of racism can be found everywhere throughout the story, which reveals the ways in which the Lacks family experience their lack of power and the unfairness of the world.   

As we read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, poverty, one of the main sociological theories found in the story, teaches us the inequality of social classes and explores the challenges faced by the poor. Lacks and her family had lived in poverty, unable to afford medical healthcare. Henrietta was the first one in the family who could receive treatment at the hospital. The Lacks family lived a simple life, which involved working hard to support their family. When Henrietta’s mother died, her father “didn’t have the patience for raising children, so when Eliza died, he took them all back to Clover, Virginia, where his family still farmed the tobacco fields their ancestors had worked as slaves” (Skloot 18). The Lacks family not only needed to face racism, but also poverty. The story demonstrates the theory of the relationship between race and poverty, relating to the idea of being poor as an issue “relevent to the study of race…...significant disparity in net worth between different racial groups” (Conley 396).  Racial identity, especially for African Americans, bears a huge influence on the status of income. As we read the story, this theory can be applied to the Lacks family. After the death of Lacks, scientists, without notifying her family or requesting permission for the use of Lacks’ cells, use Lacks’ cells while the Lacks family continues to dwell in poverty and suffer the unjustness of their situation. Because they are poor, the doctors do not offer them health care. Considered a major issue in the story, poverty had caused Lacks and her family to become miserable. Lacks might have received fewer treatments based on her income, and her family, following her death, received no healthcare, causing them even more difficulties in their impoverished situation.

Poverty could be a major factor in the Lacks family’s ignorance. As we read the story, the sociological theory of poverty leading to ignorance had been a challenge and fear Lacks needed to face. Diagnosed with sexual intercourse disease, Lacks refused health treatments because “walking into Hopkins was like entering a foreign country where she didn’t speak the language” (Skloot 16). Lacks had obtained only sixth or seventh grade education, and she had spent her life working on farms and raising her children. Facing educated doctors was hard for her because she often did not understand their medical explanations. Lacks was both poor and uneducated, which allowed the medical community to take advantage of her. The doctors did not respect her intelligence. Taking into account her level of education and the fact that she probably did not know what questions to ask, we can see that the medical system treated her and her family disrespectfully, not explaining in detail or in layman’s terms, and leading her family because they did not know what questions to ask. After Lacks’ death, her family did not know the cause or the details surrounding her death. Her family and friends watched her suffer without any knowledge of her cells being harvested and kept alive after Lacks herself died. The family faced the medical system without mentioning Lacks and her cells because of their ignorance and poverty. Lacking a proper education, the Lacks family had to face the people concealing the real truth of what had been done to their mother and how the cells were obtained. When told her mother’s cells were immortal and still living, Deborah, as well as other Lacks, began to think there were millions of Henrietta Lacks clones roaming the world. Taking advantage of the Lacks family, the doctors and the medical system hid the truth of the spread of Henrietta’s cells from them, subjecting them to unfairness when they discovered the truth Henrietta. With education interconnecting to other sociological theories discussed in the story, the story helps us to better understand ethics and fairness.  

Reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks from a sociological perspective, we can see sexism as one of the theories that helps us to understand the inequality Lacks faced during this period of time. Lacks was a black women who might have been treated differently by the doctors and media. During the 1950s, sexism, considered to be “judgment, discrimination, and hatred against him or her” (Conley 309), presented another layer of discrimination to women such as Lacks. Lacks had to face gender discrimination throughout her lifetime. When she was treated for cervical cancer using radium, she felt pains and was rendered infertile. Because of the unexplained consequences of the treatment, she became sterile; “ ‘if she had been told so before, she would not have gone through with treatment’” (Skloot 48). Lacks was not alone in her experiences with the healthcare system and its disregard for women. Even within the family, women’s rights were disregarded. In the Lacks family, Henrietta's daughter experienced sexual abuse at the hands of a male relative under her father’s watch, which her father did not do anything to prevent. This action shows to the readers that sexual abuse, a part of sexism, could happen everywhere even in the family, where the father did not do anything while watching a male relative abuse his own daughter. We can see the role gender discrimination plays in the Lacks family as well as the discrimination Lacks faces from the scientists. Without asking Lacks’ consent about her cells, the racist doctors not only see her as a black person, but also discriminate against her as a female. During the time period, females were treated differently, causing the Lacks family facing not only racism, but also gender discrimination. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks not only tells us the discovery of science world, but also teaches us humanity and morality.

All in all, with its underscoring of major sociological themes, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks teaches us not only the importance of Lacks’ contribution to medical history, but also the sociological experiences she faced. Lacks and her family faced the interrelation of inequality - racism, sexism, and poverty; the novel explains why her story was remarkable and worthy of teaching society. The story helps us to understand the morals, the ethics, and the hardships of the past, leading us to a way to change society for the better. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks can change our perspective on medical care. Even though we still face racism and other inequalities in today’s society, we can work to improve our understanding and treatment of others, to ensure the ethics that bring fairness to people.