Pro-Natalism and Hygienism in France, 1900-1940. The Example of the Fight against Venereal Disease

Luca, Virginie De

doi:10.3917/pope.903.0477

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The Lamarckian bent in the Society meant that most of its members believed that changes in the economic, social and hygienic environment would improve the present and future generations (Clark, 1984, p.155-156). But differences in approach and proposals should not be overemphasised, since things were more flexible than our a posteriori distinctions might lead us to suppose (De Luca Barusse, 2009). Believing that the preventive fight against social degeneration was to be given priority over the treatment of its consequences could nourish both attitudes.…”

Section: Inheritance and Effortmentioning

confidence: 97%

In the name of science: the conceptual and ideological background of Charles Richet’s eugenics

Vergata

2018

Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos

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The French physiologist and Nobel Prize winner Charles Richet was the author of an impressive quantity of writings, including novels and poetry. He was an out-and-out eugenicist, convinced that "intentional, conscious, scientific, and methodical" selection could achieve "any result, provided we have enough patience." He believed that the quantitative and qualitative growth of the population was of vital importance for France. In La sélection humaine (1919) and other writings, he dreamt of conscious selection to create "intellectual élites." This process would be crowned by the production of a "higher human nature, a real surhumanité." A staunch believer in the inheritance of acquired characteristics, Richet combined Darwinism and Lamarckism.

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Section: Inheritance and Effortmentioning

confidence: 97%

In the name of science: the conceptual and ideological background of Charles Richet’s eugenics

Vergata

2018

Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos

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“…38 In both countries, working-class mothers became the target of increased surveillance by official and voluntary agencies concerned about child welfare. 39 For instance, social hygienists -middle-class reformers working in voluntary organisations -promoted education in 'mothercraft' , disseminated information on the risks of venereal diseases and encouraged sexuality to be confined within the heterosexual monogamous family. After the First World War, the national landscape around reproductive politics underwent dramatic changes in Britain and France, resulting in two contrasting policies on the two sides of the channel.…”

Section: Reproductive Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction

2020

Women’s Medicine

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In 'One Woman's Mission', an article in the Sunday Times Magazine in 1973, pioneer birth control activist and female gynaecologist Helena Wright recalled the pivotal moment in her career. In 1928, Wright intrepidly dedicated herself to making contraception both acceptable and accessible. Looking back on this decision, she explained: 'It seemed to me in a prophetic way, that birth control was the single subject that women doctors had to get hold of. ' 1 The implications of Wright's vision for women doctors-to 'make contraception respectable'-cannot be overstated. Perhaps more than anyone in her generation, Wright contributed to the spread of birth control at both national and international levels; however, she was not alone in that endeavour. As her crusading remark underlines, women doctors 'got hold' of the subject of birth control from the 1920s onwards. But how did women doctors undertake this campaign at a time when contraception was a contentious topic that divided the medical profession and, indeed, the broader public? This question has received surprisingly scant attention. 2 I tell this story by exploring the key role that British female doctors played in the production and circulation of contraceptive knowledge and the handling of sexual disorders. I focus first and mostly on Britain and then on the international and transnational levels between the 1920s and the 1970s; I take France as a point of comparison. This study charts the accomplishment of several women doctors as they made their way through the predominantly maledominated medical landscape. They sought to establish the use of birth control-that is, any practices, methods, and devices that could prevent pregnancy-as a legitimate field of medicine. Alongside their work to medicalise and legitimise birth control, they promoted family planning,

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Prostitution and infection: transnational and comparative perspectives on Italian health policy (1922–1958)

König

2018

Journal of Modern Italian Studies

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Pro-Natalism and Hygienism in France, 1900-1940. The Example of the Fight against Venereal Disease

Cited by 5 publications

References 32 publications

In the name of science: the conceptual and ideological background of Charles Richet’s eugenics

In the name of science: the conceptual and ideological background of Charles Richet’s eugenics

Introduction

Prostitution and infection: transnational and comparative perspectives on Italian health policy (1922–1958)

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