Controlling Reproduction

Women, Society, and State Power

By: Nancy E. Riley, Nilanjana Chatterjee

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Paperback | 10 February 2023

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Paperback
224 Pages

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23.0 x 15.0 x 2.2

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Controlling reproduction – who has children, how many, and when – is important to states, communities, families, and individuals cross the globe. However, as Nancy Riley and Nilanjana Chatterjee argue, the stakes are even higher than might at first be appreciated: controlling reproduction is an incredibly powerful tool.

Contests over reproduction necessarily involve control of women and their bodies. Yet because reproduction is so intertwined with other social processes and institutions, its control extends far into most corners of social, economic, and political life. This book explores the role of various actors, focusing on what happens when social institutions beyond the individual – including state, religion, market, and family – are involved in the negotiation of reproductive power. Throughout, the authors engage examples pulled from across the world, such as direct fertility policies in China and Romania, the influence of the Catholic Church in Poland and Brazil, racial discrimination and resistance in Mexico and the US, and how Japan and Norway use laws intended to encourage gender equality to indirectly shape reproduction.

This engaging book sheds new light on the operations of power and gender in society. It will appeal to students taking courses on reproduction in departments of sociology, anthropology and gender studies.

Industry Reviews

"Struggles over reproduction have rarely been more intense for women, communities, and institutions. Riley and Chatterjee combine rigor and creativity to connect real-world control and resistance with feminist works of speculative fiction. Their tour de force provokes profound reflection on current social life and possible future worlds."
—Elizabeth Krause, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Riley and Chatterjee provide a comprehensive overview of reproductive battles playing out locally and internationally, highlighting that reproductive control is about controlling women, but also about defining economic, political, and social boundaries. They insightfully analyze the interplay between the most intimate individual concerns and institutional and government structures."
—Caitlin Killian, Drew University

"I found this a fascinating book[. ... A] highly significant contribution to the sexual and reproductive health literature, giving a deep and nuanced overview of the subject."
—Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

“Describing the policies of different countries, Riley and Chatterjee repeatedly justify their thesis: everything revolves around reproduction.”
—iz3w

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