Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2014
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Pan-African Studies
Degree Program
Pan-African Studies, MA
Committee Chair
Story, Kaila A.
Subject
African American women--Health and hygiene--United States--History; Birth control--United States--History; Human reproductive technology--Political aspects; Human reproduction--Social aspects--United States
Abstract
My paper explores the unique forms of reproductive inequality experienced by poor women of color during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By analyzing the experiences of eight African-American women, I will illuminate their struggles and triumphs in the fight for reproductive justice. I focus on the impact of the breeding system of enslavement, inhumane medical experimentation and forced and coercive sterilization. In this work I argue that Black women’s subordinate status across multiple racial, gendered, and socioeconomic systems allows them invaluable insight into said systems and especially how they work in tandem to recreate oppression. Finally I explore the holes in the traditional reproductive rights framework, particularly in its failure to account for the concerns of poor Black women, and also discuss future implications of the reproductive justice framework on clinical practice and policy formation.
Recommended Citation
Pumphrey, Shelby Ray, "Reclaiming my body : black women and the fight for reproductive justice." (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1164.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1164
