Intersectionality In Eugenics

Intersectionality Many strides have been made towards creating equality for women over the past several decades, however oftentimes these strides to not take into account that all women do not have equal opportunities and situations (Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, 2006/2013). A framework known as intersectionality considers differences in experiences to help further develop women’s rights globally. Intersectionality recognises that each person has multiple identities and faces multiple sources of oppression, and takes into account that there is an interaction between such social identities that intersect to create different experiences and situations for everyone (Larkin, Lecture, 2016). Intersectionality considers …show more content…
Eugenics are defined as practices defined to improve human heredity (Larkin, Lecture, 2016). However, many eugenic practices were known to be racist, classist and ableist, particularly in Canada (Strange & Stephen, 2010). Eugenic practices consist of two forms; positive and negative. Positive eugenics encourage certain groups to reproduce whilst negative eugenics prevent or discourage other groups from reproducing (Larkin, Lecture, 2016).
A Canadian example of eugenics existed within the Indigenous community. The Alberta Sterilization Act was a racist policy put in place that ordered the forced sterilisation of thousands of Indigenous people, often without their knowledge (Savage, 1998/2013). Leilani Muir, one of the women who underwent sterilisation, successfully sued the Alberta Government for wrongful sterilisation and led over 700 others to do the same (Larkin, Lecture, 2016). In the United States, women with lower incomes were paid by the American Government to use an implanted birth control called Norplant, and usage was often a condition of receiving welfare (Larkin, Lecture, 2016). This practice was put in place to prevent lower-income women from having children, something that the government believed would improve the genetic pool in the United States. Finally, neo-Malthusianism practices scare women out of having children by making them believe they are responsible for their hunger, poverty and overall economic situation; this is simply not the case (Ross,

Show More

Related Documents: Intersectionality In Eugenics

Analysis Of Betty Friedan´s The Feminine Mystique