To begin, Crystal Eastman first published her article in 1918. She produced the source for a large target audience. The article was originally published in a radical journal called Birth Control review. The source’s purpose was to inform women that, whether the law stated so or not, they had a choice as to whether or not to conceive a child. The purpose of the source is to demand that women take control of their bodies. “I would almost say, that the whole structure of the feminist’s dream of society rests upon the rapid extension of scientific knowledge about birth control.” (Eastman, Pg.510).
Next, the original source is women, feminists, and most likely medical doctors. However, because it was posted in a magazine that was viewed as radical for the times, there’s no telling who actually read it. An interesting fact is that Both Crystal’s mother and father were reverends. As a matter of fact, her mother was actually ordained as the first woman Congregational minister. Because her mother had changed things, Crystal felt a deep need to emulate her mother. However, rather than follow her parents into ministry, she became a feminist. Sadly, it is unlikely that either one of her parents would support her desire for birth control, as birth control violates the bible.
Furthermore, the biggest underlying value that I could find within her article would be economic freedom for women. Her key values include the female right to vote, women holding office, birth control, and social and sexual freedom. “This is to me the central fact of feminism. Until women learn to want economic independence, i.e. the ability to earn their own living independently of their husbands, fathers, brothers, or lovers-and until they work out a way to get thi...
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...uring this time period, as portrayed in this story as well as throughout the chapter, birth control was viewed as unconstitutional. Another example of a feminist who fought the war for birth control was Margret Sanger. She was so against forced pregnancies that she took matters into her own hands. “Sanger smuggled these devices into the United States and in 1916, in an immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, opened the first American Birth control clinic. Days after the clinic opened, she was arrested for promoting birth control.” (Dubois &Dumenil, 2012.)
Works Cited
Crystal, E. (1918). Birth Control in the Feminism Program. In E. C. DuBois & L. Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents (p. 509). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
E. C. DuBois & L. Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
...rothels: a statement that needs to be eliminated from the American mindset. Having birth control available is not going to result in a ridiculous amount of promiscuity; it is very important to acknowledge that this is not a matter of self-control. This is a matter of being able to have freedom and rights, the fundamental theme in the feminist movement.
Dorothy Wardell’s article titled “Margaret Sanger: Birth Control’s Successful Revolutionary” explains what inspired Sanger ideas on contraception and what problems she faced while working to change the notions and laws on Birth Control. The central argument presented by Wardell is that Sanger’s efforts led to privileges for women’s bodies and health centers providing methods for women to act on these privileges (Wardell, 736). Although Wardell is effective in supporting her argument, it would be stronger if she included some historical context and evidence of Sanger’s opinion in her own words found in a speech of hers and in Family Limitation.
...still a vital part of world today. Planned Parenthood is not segregated to color or affluence and has definitely changed the world as we know it today. Margaret Sanger though a determined selfish women did not get everything the way she wanted it to be. She hung up fliers in immigrant neighborhoods just so the poor or colored would go to the clinic. She wanted these people to go to the birth control clinics so they couldn’t reproduce. Margaret believed that if you couldn’t support the family you already have you shouldn’t have more children and she was a strong believer that the inferior race should not be able to reproduce. All of Mrs. Sanger’s actions said more then what her voice said. Margaret Sanger was a powerful strong woman who was celebrated as an advocate of women’s rights; however her motives were for all the wrong reasons.
Margaret Sanger was the founder of The American League of Birth Control which later became Planned Parenthood and her argument in those times was that it was not fair for women who were from a lower class could not have access to Birth Control.
Both sources approach an issue from a different demographic, the married young housewife and the of age generation in the roaring twenties respectively. If we compare intent, we see Sanger's is a politically motivated piece seeking empathy compared to what appears to be a balanced study from New Girls for Old. Therefore the more representative source is that of the uninfluenced survey, while we can't discount that they are selectively chosen; in comparison to Sanger's selected testimonials are likely the most pressing and emotive letters written to her. This contrasting factor of intent also leads to their influence varying, as Engelman presents it was Sanger's pivotal activist role that when combined with the radicals, socialites and professionals that led to the successive progress of the birth control movement as one of the few women led social movements i...
Dubois, Ellen Carol and Lynn Dumentil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents (Boston:
Additionally, compulsory sterilization efforts could be implemented. become glorified in eugenics programs. Davis asserts that the birth control proponents within the feminist movement from the very beginning determined that it was the moral. obligation of black and other minority women restrict the size of their inferrior families.
This lecture on the Pill will focus on the introduction, controversies, and outcome of women’s control of contraception during the mid 20th century. It will also discuss how the Pill became an influential stepping-stone for women activists. I chose to focus this discussion on three questions. First, what did the Pill teach us about the role of women in the middle 20th century? Second, what were the arguments for and against the Pill? Lastly, how safe was the Pill and what effects did women experience from taking it? By centering in on these questions, I hope to provide insight on the struggles women faced before and after this birth control technology became readily available to women in the United States.
Dubois, WEB. Comp. Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 694-695. Print.
Sanger, one of the pioneers of modern birth control, founded Planned Parenthood which was an
Imagine today in America’s hyper-sexualized society, not being provided with any knowledge about contraception or sexual education. Before Margaret Sanger’s activism, most women were in this position of oblivion about their own bodies. In “Morality of Birth Control”, Sanger argues effectively for the legalization and acceptance of both birth control and sexual education using ethos, pathos, and logos to strengthen her argument. Sanger organizes her argument by first presenting a series of questions that were sent out to “the most eminent men and women in the world.” These questions pertained to the opinions of these men and women on the topic of how birth control and awareness could potentially affect their society.
During the early 1900s, American nurse Margaret Sanger led the birth-control movement in the United States. She and others opened clinics to provide women with information and devices. Although frequently jailed, she and her followers were instrumental in getting laws changed. In subsequent years, laws against birth control gradually weakened, and more effective methods were developed.
Margaret Sanger was, at large, a birth control activist, but this speech was more about the questioning of birth control corrupting morality in women. People must remember, in the day and age where Sanger presented this speech, November 1921, women were considered very far from equal and much closer to servants or maids. In her speech, I saw that ethos was present in the sense that she gave herself credibility. Through Sanger’s detailed words and actions, and her statements including the presence of scientists and, or, professionals, the masses of listening people could infer that she was very well informed and solid in her statements. Though she presented herself as agreeable, Sanger was firm in her beliefs. In addition, Sanger says, “We desire to stop at its source the disease, poverty and feeble-mindedness and insanity which exist today, for these lower the standards of civilization and make for race deterioration. We know that the masses of people are growing wiser and are using their own minds to decide their individual conduct” (Sanger, par.15). To me, Sanger made herself appeal to the audience by using the word ‘we.’ In the practice of ethos, this focused on the author more than...
The Roaring Twenties were known as a time of economic boom, pop culture and social developments. This was a time when women began to break norms, they acted rebelliously such as wearing releveling clothing, smoking, and drinking. These women were known as “flappers” who wanted to change their roles in the 1920’s. Birth control activist, Margaret Sanger sought to change the world where women had access to a low cost, effective contraception pill. In “The Morality of Birth Control” Sanger battled opponents who claimed that contraception would cause women to become immoral. The author uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and fallacies to back up her claim while touching on issues in the church, advancements of women, and the source of disease in the world.
"People and Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.