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An Intersectional Archaeology of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Early Twentieth-Century Easton, Maryland

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Abstract

The early 20th century laid much of the basis for today’s landscape of reproductive politics. This article evaluates the reproductive landscape of Easton, Maryland, in the early 20th century, where the appearance of a ca. 1903 advertising booklet for Chichester’s English Pennyroyal Pills and children’s toys on the site of a white middle-class home raises questions about the ways intersections of race, class, and gender constrained reproductive choices amid segregation and the rise of both the birth-control and eugenics movements. An intersectional lens facilitates the exploration of these intersections at the household, neighborhood, and national levels to compare the reproductive realities for white and African American women in this period and the particular local manifestations of these realities.

Extracto

El comienzo del siglo XX sentó gran parte de la base del panorama actual de la política reproductiva. Este artículo evalúa el paisaje reproductivo de Easton, Maryland, a principios del siglo XX, donde la aparición de un folleto publicitario alrededor de 1903 para las píldoras “Chichester’s English Pennyroyal Pills” y los juguetes para niños en el sitio de una casa de gente blanca de clase media plantea preguntas sobre las formas en que las intersecciones de raza, clase y género restringían las opciones reproductivas en medio de la segregación y el avance de los movimientos tanto del control de la natalidad como de la eugenesia. Un enfoque interseccional facilita la exploración de estas intersecciones a nivel doméstico, vecinal y nacional para comparar las realidades reproductivas de las mujeres blancas y afroamericanas en este período y las manifestaciones locales particulares de estas realidades.

Résumé

Le début du 20ème siècle a posé une grande partie des bases du paysage politique actuel en matière de reproduction. Cet article est une évaluation du paysage reproductif d'Easton dans le Maryland au début du 20ème siècle. La découverte d'un livret publicitaire datant de 1903 pour les pilules contraceptives anglaises de menthe pouliot par Chichester mais aussi de jouets d’enfants sur le site d'une demeure dont les occupants blancs appartenaient à la classe moyenne, suscite des questions quant aux manières dont les intersections entre race, classe sociale et sexe limitaient les choix reproductifs durant la ségrégation et l'avènement de mouvements tels que le contrôle des naissances et l'eugénisme. Une approche intersectionnelle facilite l'exploration de ces intersections aux niveaux du foyer, du quartier et de la nation afin de comparer les réalités reproductives pour les femmes blanches et les femmes africaines-américaines durant cette période et les manifestations locales particulières de ces réalités.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, 1111 Woods Hall, 4302 Chapel Lane, College Park, MD, 20742, U.S.A.

    Tracy H. Jenkins

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Jenkins, T.H. An Intersectional Archaeology of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Early Twentieth-Century Easton, Maryland. Hist Arch 54, 581–604 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-020-00256-2

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