In Praise of Wellborn Mothers: On the Development of Eugenicist Gender Roles in lnterwar Romania
In Praise of Wellborn Mothers: On the Development of Eugenicist Gender Roles in lnterwar Romania
Author(s): Maria BucurSubject(s): Gender Studies, Social history, Demography and human biology, Sociobiology, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), Social Norms / Social Control
Published by: SAGE Publications Ltd
Keywords: Romania; interwar period; gender roles; potential of ethnic group; control of reproduction; social roles; eugenics; social organization;
Summary/Abstract: "Through Mendelism, modern biology has given us the key that enables each nation to gain access if not to Heaven, at least to its gates. . . . The birth of children with superior gifts can be for each nation a source of scientific, ethical, artistic, and social creativity, that would increase the potential of that entire ethnic group." Thus spoke in 1940 Simion Mehedinti, one of the most prominent figures in modern Romanian pedagogy and geography. lnterwar Romania was the scene of intense debates among the educated middle classes on the shape and role of the modern Romanian state as a sovereign political entity in Europe and on the social organization of this state. Among the questions they discussed were gender roles in social and political life, particularly regarding control of reproduction. [...]
Journal: East European Politics and Societies
- Issue Year: 09/1995
- Issue No: 01
- Page Range: 123-142
- Page Count: 20
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF