The "I *Heart* Eugenics" Thread

[Mavdog]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

Horseshit

The argument you make might have a little merit if something in her actions changed between her early career (ca 1915) and her later career (1920+), but nothing changed. That is....your argument suggests some disconnect between her early and later career - but there is no disconnect. She was pushing the same agenda and the same actions -- an agenda and actions which were entirely consistent with her avowedly eugenicist arguments presented in The Pivot of Civilation and elsewhere over her long career.

you sure like to hang your theory on "the pivot of civilization", which as has been said repeatedly came years after sanger began her campaign for sex education and the availability of contraception.

in sanger's own words from "what every girl should know":

"my object in telling young girls the truth [about reproduction] is for the definite purpose of preventing them from entering into sexual relations, whether in marriage or out of it, without thinking and knowing. Better a thousand times to live alone and unloved than to be tied to a man who has robbed her of her health or of the joy of motherhood, or welcoming the pains of motherhood...every girl should first understand herself; she should know her anatomy; she should know the epochs of a normal woman's life and the unfoldment each epoch brings; she should know the effect the emotions have on her acts, and finally she should know the fullness and richness of life when crowned by the flower of motherhood."

that is without doubt NOT the words of a person advocating the ideals of eugenics. it is a person who seeks liberty for women to be educated about sex, their reproductive system, and to be empowered to make their own decisions about childbirth.

you might (I'm sure you don't, but you might) note that this is no way rebuts my point -- instead it reinforces my point.

you mean this point?

She was very much a malthusian who believed that good white folks were good white folks precisely because they kept their numbers low and (accordingly) it's necessary to make sure the darkies and dummies follow suit.

nope, it shows that this point about "darkies" is baseless and contrary to the facts.

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by Mavdog

you sure like to hang your theory on "the pivot of civilization", which as has been said repeatedly came years after sanger began her campaign for sex education and the availability of contraception.

in sanger's own words from "what every girl should know":

"my object in telling young girls the truth [about reproduction] is for the definite purpose of preventing them from entering into sexual relations, whether in marriage or out of it, without thinking and knowing. Better a thousand times to live alone and unloved than to be tied to a man who has robbed her of her health or of the joy of motherhood, or welcoming the pains of motherhood...every girl should first understand herself; she should know her anatomy; she should know the epochs of a normal woman's life and the unfoldment each epoch brings; she should know the effect the emotions have on her acts, and finally she should know the fullness and richness of life when crowned by the flower of motherhood."

FYI, UPenn also lists "What Every Girl Should Know" as one of Sanger's 1920s+ publications, and thus clearly not indicative of anything. Link