American Studies الدراسات الأمريكية

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Browsing American Studies الدراسات الأمريكية by Author "Abeer Fuad Hashem Zughaiyer"

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    Margaret Sanger, Reproductive Rights, and the Eugenics Movement:Navigating the Tensions Between Feminist Advocacy and Scientific Racism
    (Al-Quds University, 2025-08-25) Abeer Fuad Hashem Zughaiyer; عبير فؤاد هاشم زغير
    This thesis explores the life and contributions of Margaret Sanger, a key figure in the early birth control movement, to investigate the conflicts between the struggle for reproductive rights and the impact of eugenic ideology in the early twentieth century. Sanger’s advoca-cy was groundbreaking; she challenged oppressive laws, established clinics, and founded organizations that enhanced women's access to contraception. In doing so, she propelled feminist battles for bodily autonomy and contributed to the groundwork for contemporary reproductive rights. However, Sanger’s legacy is complicated by her association with the eugenics movement. At a time when eugenic concepts heavily influenced public health and social policy, she frequently presented birth control as a method to better society while also empowering women. This strategy enabled her to forge political alliances and obtain re-sources, but it also linked her movement with racial and class-based disparities. For many African American communities and other marginalized groups, this raised worries that birth control was less about individual choice and more about controlling their populations and regulating their reproductive rights. By examining Sanger’s writings, public addresses, and academic works, this thesis emphasizes both the liberating and exclusionary aspects of her efforts. It posits that Sanger’s legacy cannot be viewed simply as either a feminist achievement or eugenic involvement; rather, it embodies a complex convergence of both. Her narrative demonstrates how movements for social change can both challenge and per-petuate the inequalities of their era.