Book contents
- Reproductive Realities in Modern China
- Cambridge Studies in the History of the People’s Republic of China
- Reproductive Realities in Modern China
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- 1 Building a Fitter Nation: Eugenics, Birth Control, and Abortion in Public Discourse, 1911–1949
- 2 Birth Control in Practice
- 3 Reaping the Fruits of Women’s Labor: Birth Control in the Early PRC, 1949–1958
- 4 “Birth Planning Has Many Benefits”: Weaving Family Planning into the Fabric of Everyday Life, 1959–1965
- 5 Controlling Sex and Reproduction across the Urban–Rural Divide, 1966–1979
- 6 The Rise and Demise of the One Child Policy, 1979–2015
- Epilogue: Birth Control and Abortion in the Longue Durée, 1911–2021
- Appendix: Interviews
- Glossary
- References
- Index
3 - Reaping the Fruits of Women’s Labor: Birth Control in the Early PRC, 1949–1958
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2023
- Reproductive Realities in Modern China
- Cambridge Studies in the History of the People’s Republic of China
- Reproductive Realities in Modern China
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- 1 Building a Fitter Nation: Eugenics, Birth Control, and Abortion in Public Discourse, 1911–1949
- 2 Birth Control in Practice
- 3 Reaping the Fruits of Women’s Labor: Birth Control in the Early PRC, 1949–1958
- 4 “Birth Planning Has Many Benefits”: Weaving Family Planning into the Fabric of Everyday Life, 1959–1965
- 5 Controlling Sex and Reproduction across the Urban–Rural Divide, 1966–1979
- 6 The Rise and Demise of the One Child Policy, 1979–2015
- Epilogue: Birth Control and Abortion in the Longue Durée, 1911–2021
- Appendix: Interviews
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
Like their predecessors, Communist officials initially placed strict restrictions on birth control and abortion, encouraging high fertility rates. Focusing on the early years of the People’s Republic from 1949 until the Great Leap Forward, this chapter shows that even in this constrained environment, literature on sex and birth control continued to be published, promoting disparate narratives on sexuality and fostering diverse local contraceptive practices. The need to more fully mobilize women’s labor led to a gradual loosening of birth control limitations. Yet, the availability of information about sex, as well as access to birth control, abortions, and sterilizations, differed dramatically according to location, class, and education level.
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- Information
- Reproductive Realities in Modern ChinaBirth Control and Abortion, 1911–2021, pp. 73 - 103Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023