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savaging's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this book, I felt like I wanted to create the opposite of an inspirational calendar, for white people to read. Those who benefit from a system of White Supremacy could have daily historical reminders culled from this book, like:
-When enslaved children died because of poor conditions, coroners would usually blame the mother for smothering the child in her sleep.
-Raping enslaved people, including children, was not considered a crime. The only time it would be considered in the courts was as grounds for a white divorce.
-Some of the first examples of maternal-fetal conflict were when slave-owners would dig a hole in the ground before whipping a pregnant slave, so her fetus could be 'protected' from the abuse.
-Several mothers, about to be sold to slave-owners far away, drafted a letter to the enslaver recommending that he instead look into several nearby plantation owners, so they could stay in contact with their families.
-Very few mothers escaped from slavery, because they were dedicated to protecting their families.
-The first Nazi sterilization program was drafted from a program in California.
-While white feminists have been fighting for freedom from the family, many black feminists have been fighting for freedom to have a family.
Because when you hear these things, it becomes impossible to listen again to that old explanation that black people's problems are the fault of poor parenting.
I found the historical chapters, which focus on slavery and the eugenics movement, to be extraordinary. The other chapters, focused on modern reproduction issues, were informative, but since Roberts wrote this in the 90s, I'm not entirely certain if the specifics were what's most relevant for this political moment. I really encourage other white feminists to read this.
-When enslaved children died because of poor conditions, coroners would usually blame the mother for smothering the child in her sleep.
-Raping enslaved people, including children, was not considered a crime. The only time it would be considered in the courts was as grounds for a white divorce.
-Some of the first examples of maternal-fetal conflict were when slave-owners would dig a hole in the ground before whipping a pregnant slave, so her fetus could be 'protected' from the abuse.
-Several mothers, about to be sold to slave-owners far away, drafted a letter to the enslaver recommending that he instead look into several nearby plantation owners, so they could stay in contact with their families.
-Very few mothers escaped from slavery, because they were dedicated to protecting their families.
-The first Nazi sterilization program was drafted from a program in California.
-While white feminists have been fighting for freedom from the family, many black feminists have been fighting for freedom to have a family.
Because when you hear these things, it becomes impossible to listen again to that old explanation that black people's problems are the fault of poor parenting.
I found the historical chapters, which focus on slavery and the eugenics movement, to be extraordinary. The other chapters, focused on modern reproduction issues, were informative, but since Roberts wrote this in the 90s, I'm not entirely certain if the specifics were what's most relevant for this political moment. I really encourage other white feminists to read this.
callieju's review against another edition
5.0
Dorothy Roberts expertly documents the systemic attacks on the Black body, a harrowing and essential read.
jackiejackiejackiee's review against another edition
informative
5.0
Gifted to me by a friend. This book changed my life and I constantly refer back to it in conversations and even academic papers.
stelhan's review against another edition
3.0
An absolute must read for anyone who cares about reproductive rights
the_other_aenor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
Worth the read; however, there was a power-imbalance between historical and sociological read in some parts.
shay_janae's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.75
The books does a great job of shining light on the country’s biases and how they effect reproductive rights in Black communities. Felt like I was reading a collection of college essays and not a book.
sunshine_sophia's review
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.5
for its time, it seems to have been revolutionary and serves as an incredible foundation for future research and commentary. given that it was written in the 90s, there are some obvious drawbacks such as not being entirely intersectional when discussing the lgbtq+ community, especially trans folks. I'm sure black trans and lgbtq+ individuals were also adversely impacted by these racist laws and programs.
i really liked how it walked the reader through a timeline of this history of reproductive coercion and control from enslavement to the present day (the 90s). i would be interested in some further academic analysis of how these things have impacted folks in the 2000s and 2010s. i am especially interested to see what the impacts of this will be for people of color in a post-roe world. overall, this was a fascinating read. while not totally surprising that many programs are rooted in racism, it is still important to acknowledge. this is a great read for anyone already fairly well-versed in intersectional feminism and the history of reproductive coercion.
i really liked how it walked the reader through a timeline of this history of reproductive coercion and control from enslavement to the present day (the 90s). i would be interested in some further academic analysis of how these things have impacted folks in the 2000s and 2010s. i am especially interested to see what the impacts of this will be for people of color in a post-roe world. overall, this was a fascinating read. while not totally surprising that many programs are rooted in racism, it is still important to acknowledge. this is a great read for anyone already fairly well-versed in intersectional feminism and the history of reproductive coercion.