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Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion
Undoubtedly the most influential advocate for birth control even before the term existed, Margaret Sanger ignited a movement that has shaped our society to this day. Her views on reproductive rights have made her a frequent target of conservatives and so-called family values activists. Yet lately even progressives have shied away from her, citing socialist leanings and a purported belief in eugenics as a blight on her accomplishments. In this captivating new biography, the renowned feminist historian Jean H. Baker rescues Sanger from such critiques and restores her to the vaunted place in history she once held.
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Trained as a nurse and midwife in the gritty tenements of New York’s Lower East Side, Sanger grew increasingly aware of the dangers of unplanned pregnancy—both physical and psychological. A botched abortion resulting in the death of a poor young mother catalyzed Sanger, and she quickly became one of the loudest voices in favor of sex education and contraception. The movement she started spread across the country, eventually becoming a vast international organization with her as its spokeswoman.
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Sanger’s staunch advocacy for women’s privacy and freedom extended to her personal life as well. After becoming a wife and mother at a relatively early age, she abandoned the trappings of home and family for a globe-trotting life as a women’s rights activist. Notorious for the sheer number of her romantic entanglements, Sanger epitomized the type of “free love†that would become mainstream only at the very end of her life. That she lived long enough to see the creation of the birth control pill—which finally made planned pregnancy a reality—is only fitting.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2011
30 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Jean H. Baker
28 books22 followersJean H. Baker is a professor of history at Goucher College. A graduate of Goucher College, she earned her doctorate at Johns Hopkins University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 25, 2012
This would make the perfect Christmas gift for Rick Santorum.
February 24, 2012
More 3.5. Overall it's well-written, though the early chapters that outline Sanger's origins and the early days of the movement are tighter in construction and more compelling than the chapters focusing on Sanger's later years and decline (though this could just as well be due to the natural narrative arc in Sanger's life than any real flaw in the research or writing). Baker does try to present a balanced view of Sanger's life - a life that hasn't ever really been clearly presented, least of all by Sanger herself. Baker is quite good at helping her readers discern between Margaret the person and Margaret the "brand name" for the birth control movement. This is a biography that is keenly aware that the hero is, underneath the armor, human. Baker also brings to light Sanger's critical support of the scientific research that lead to the creation of the first "pill", an achievement that Sanger, in her fading late years, never got to see.
However, there are parts of the biography where Baker's analysis falls short. In her excellent introduction, Baker states her desire to set Sanger's life within an appropriate historical context, in particular her relationship to the eugenic movement. Why have we forgiven or ignored the eugenic fervor of men such as Teddy Roosevelt while Sanger seems unable to escape its taint? This is a question certainly worth asking, though Baker never really seems to approach it head on. These portions of the text feel weak - Baker is not an apologist for Sanger, but does sometimes seem to back away when I wished she would dig deeper.
Regardless, this book did make me think and linger and start to research myself. That's never a bad thing.
However, there are parts of the biography where Baker's analysis falls short. In her excellent introduction, Baker states her desire to set Sanger's life within an appropriate historical context, in particular her relationship to the eugenic movement. Why have we forgiven or ignored the eugenic fervor of men such as Teddy Roosevelt while Sanger seems unable to escape its taint? This is a question certainly worth asking, though Baker never really seems to approach it head on. These portions of the text feel weak - Baker is not an apologist for Sanger, but does sometimes seem to back away when I wished she would dig deeper.
Regardless, this book did make me think and linger and start to research myself. That's never a bad thing.
October 22, 2012
Margaret Sanger (1879-1966), founder of the American Birth Control League, which became Planned Parenthood, has always been a controversial figure. She attacked the Catholic Church for its position on contraception, but she also alienated many progressives because of her unrelenting radicalism and flamboyance, which seemed more in the service of her own ambition than the causes she promoted.
As Jean Baker notes in her new biography, "Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion" (Hill and Wang, 349 pages, $35), Sanger remains a target of groups opposing abortion, which accuse her of killing babies as part of a eugenics program that was Nazi-like in its effort to create a master race.
Lost in the attacks on Sanger, Baker notes, is the fact that she advocated the legalization of birth control so as to make unnecessary the crude back-room abortions that destroyed many women's lives.
What critics on the right and left forget, Sanger's latest biographer argues, is that eugenics was once a perfectly mainstream and even progressive movement supported by no less than Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and H.G. Wells. These public figures were concerned about the health of the human population and did not foresee how fascist governments would twist the desire to improve humankind into a monstrously inhumane killing machine.
Sanger could be her own worst enemy, in part because from a very early age she imbibed from her father a tendency to go it alone. She watched him attack the Catholic Church, challenge the authorities in a company town, and proclaim his socialism and atheism without worrying about what his outspoken opinions would cost him. Maggie, as Sanger was called, was her father's favorite, and Baker shows how the daughter made goodness out of her father's often counterproductive rebelliousness.
Indeed, Sanger realized that for all his forthright actions, her father also acted with considerable social irresponsibility. Drunk and often without a job, he nevertheless fathered a large family. Her many siblings, too, served as object lessons for Sanger, who later wrote, "Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, and jails with large families."
Sanger grew up not only determined to improve society, but to enjoy herself along the way -- which meant having an affair with H.G. Wells, not only a progressive thinker but also a notorious womanizer. She held her own in his company, deserving -- and receiving -- his admiration. Baker accepts her subject, warts and all, and believes that by situating her in the context of her own times, Sanger emerges as a far more complex and sympathetic figure than her latter-day critics acknowledge.
As Jean Baker notes in her new biography, "Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion" (Hill and Wang, 349 pages, $35), Sanger remains a target of groups opposing abortion, which accuse her of killing babies as part of a eugenics program that was Nazi-like in its effort to create a master race.
Lost in the attacks on Sanger, Baker notes, is the fact that she advocated the legalization of birth control so as to make unnecessary the crude back-room abortions that destroyed many women's lives.
What critics on the right and left forget, Sanger's latest biographer argues, is that eugenics was once a perfectly mainstream and even progressive movement supported by no less than Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and H.G. Wells. These public figures were concerned about the health of the human population and did not foresee how fascist governments would twist the desire to improve humankind into a monstrously inhumane killing machine.
Sanger could be her own worst enemy, in part because from a very early age she imbibed from her father a tendency to go it alone. She watched him attack the Catholic Church, challenge the authorities in a company town, and proclaim his socialism and atheism without worrying about what his outspoken opinions would cost him. Maggie, as Sanger was called, was her father's favorite, and Baker shows how the daughter made goodness out of her father's often counterproductive rebelliousness.
Indeed, Sanger realized that for all his forthright actions, her father also acted with considerable social irresponsibility. Drunk and often without a job, he nevertheless fathered a large family. Her many siblings, too, served as object lessons for Sanger, who later wrote, "Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, and jails with large families."
Sanger grew up not only determined to improve society, but to enjoy herself along the way -- which meant having an affair with H.G. Wells, not only a progressive thinker but also a notorious womanizer. She held her own in his company, deserving -- and receiving -- his admiration. Baker accepts her subject, warts and all, and believes that by situating her in the context of her own times, Sanger emerges as a far more complex and sympathetic figure than her latter-day critics acknowledge.
January 16, 2012
I realized about halfway through that I didn't like Margaret very much. Selfish, wrong kind of ambition, self-involved. Yet driven and my God what a difference she made. Good lesson in people don't have to be likeable to accomplish remarkable things -- nor do they have to have pure motives. Still, I found myself growing bored and while the writing is solid enough, it wasn't all that engaging. Skimmed the second half.
December 21, 2011
Even though this biography is poorly written and gave the impression of leaving out a great deal, I'm glad I read it. I have heard very little about Margaret Sanger that's not severely biased on one side or the other and wanted to get at least a somewhat objective view of her life and actions. The author of this biography clearly admires Sanger and tries her best to make her as heroic as possible, but does not completely ignore some of the less heroic aspects of her personality, such as her frequent stretching of the truth, her abandonment of her husbands and children, and her cantankerous single-mindedness. That said, Baker works AWFULLY hard to explain away certain ways of thinking that are not currently in vogue (for example, I lost track of the number of times eugenics was excused because it was "favored by the best thinkers in the world," etc.). There was a lot of good information here that put Sanger into the context of her times. It's hard for a woman raised in the sexually free and liberal 1970s and 1980s to imagine a time when birth control was not only unmentionable but actually illegal. However, although she is freely quoted (sources include letters to and from friends as well as articles and proposals Sanger wrote in the course of her long career), I still felt that I didn't really know get to know Margaret Sanger the person. Baker frequently mentions that Sanger was irresistible to both men and women and that she inspired passionate love and devotion wherever she went, but from the descriptions and quotations Baker provides, I could not for the life of me understand why anyone would fall in love with a woman so apparently self-absorbed and obsessed with her cause. She was evidently a charismatic person, but that did not come through in the biography. Nevertheless, I have to admire the sheer force of will that made it possible for me to have a safer and happier life with the children I took it for granted I could choose to have at the time that was right for me and the husband who was willing to support and contribute to the choices I have made.
June 24, 2019
Margaret Lousie Higgins Sanger was born on September 14, 1879, in Corning, New York to Michael Hennesy Higgin's (an iconoclastic) and Anne Higgins. The sixth child of eleven children. Her mother would of tuberculosis at the age of fifty leaving an adolescent Margaret to be a surrogate mother. She implied that her mother's frequent pregnancies were the hidden element of her mother's death. This shaped Margaret to change her own familial fate and to remove herself from poverty. With the help of her older sister's, Margaret matriculated to Claverack College and Hudson River Institute in 1896 and then proceeded to enter into the nursing program at White Plain's Hospital in 1900. In 1902, a few months shy of completing the program, she met her husband William Sanger.
Margaret and William by now parents to three children weren't satisfied with suburban life. They decided to move to New York City in 1910. William had given up his work as a craftsman and started painting. To supplant their income Margaret had returned to nursing. Being a visiting nurse in 1912 to the tenements on the Lower East Side made Margaret acquainted with impoverished women's agony of frequent childbirth's -just like her mother's - miscarriage and abortions. This is where she had met Mrs. Sadie Sachs. Sadie had been found by her husband unconscious on the floor from septicemia due to a botched abortion. Present on Sadie's final examination Margaret had overheard her ask the doctor about measures to prevent another pregnancy. To which we have the infamous line: "Young woman, there's only one way. Tell Jake to sleep on the roof!" Later that year Margaret was brought back to the Sach's home, only to be too late. Sadie had become pregnant again died from a self-attempted abortion.
Margaret was a tenacious crusader. I admired her pursuit through arrest, travails, trials, and fleeing the country for her cause to help women get adequate reproductive care. Even now women's reproductive rights are under attack. We have our government funding Abstinence Only programs. Giving out misinformation about birth control, sex, sexuality and STI's. All things Margaret tirelessly had fought against. We show T.V. shows promoting a family that follows the Quiverfull faith, it's a misogynistic belief that relies on women to continually become pregnant. Their only form of birth control is the belief that God will deem she's had enough children. Mrs. Duggar is on her twentieth child+ and is more than willing to damage her health and her body for her faith. it's important to note that Margaret despised organized religion for manipulating women into frequent pregnancies.
Margaret had no restrictions on how to go about teaching women. Yet not belonging to a group left her vulnerable to not having her information heard or valued. Which like any good politician or rebel she had to join a movement to have a backing. Sanger sadly aligned herself with Eugenics. Eugenics was built on the theories by Darwin's brother. It's marker's where that bad genes are hereditary and passed on. They believed the only option was the sterilization of many disabled and minority communities. It was believed to be a viable -and used- option towards a greater (whiter) race. Those that followed Eugenics where openly classist and racist. It seemed an odd fit for a woman who wanted to help all women of all classes. Sanger's hope was to supplement the prejudiced ideas by eugenicists, by offering birth control as a healthier alternative to sterilization. This did not catch on. Thus signing Margaret forever to the negative ideologues which she did not hold. It should be noted that the men of Eugenics didn't support her theories nor her within their group.
Hero, crusader, educator, prisoner... Nouns don't make up a person, but verbs, actions, and words do. We have to look at the legacy of the woman, how she tried to help the impoverished women. Her fight to help women have options. Her legacy and fight are still being carried on.
Margaret and William by now parents to three children weren't satisfied with suburban life. They decided to move to New York City in 1910. William had given up his work as a craftsman and started painting. To supplant their income Margaret had returned to nursing. Being a visiting nurse in 1912 to the tenements on the Lower East Side made Margaret acquainted with impoverished women's agony of frequent childbirth's -just like her mother's - miscarriage and abortions. This is where she had met Mrs. Sadie Sachs. Sadie had been found by her husband unconscious on the floor from septicemia due to a botched abortion. Present on Sadie's final examination Margaret had overheard her ask the doctor about measures to prevent another pregnancy. To which we have the infamous line: "Young woman, there's only one way. Tell Jake to sleep on the roof!" Later that year Margaret was brought back to the Sach's home, only to be too late. Sadie had become pregnant again died from a self-attempted abortion.
Margaret was a tenacious crusader. I admired her pursuit through arrest, travails, trials, and fleeing the country for her cause to help women get adequate reproductive care. Even now women's reproductive rights are under attack. We have our government funding Abstinence Only programs. Giving out misinformation about birth control, sex, sexuality and STI's. All things Margaret tirelessly had fought against. We show T.V. shows promoting a family that follows the Quiverfull faith, it's a misogynistic belief that relies on women to continually become pregnant. Their only form of birth control is the belief that God will deem she's had enough children. Mrs. Duggar is on her twentieth child+ and is more than willing to damage her health and her body for her faith. it's important to note that Margaret despised organized religion for manipulating women into frequent pregnancies.
Margaret had no restrictions on how to go about teaching women. Yet not belonging to a group left her vulnerable to not having her information heard or valued. Which like any good politician or rebel she had to join a movement to have a backing. Sanger sadly aligned herself with Eugenics. Eugenics was built on the theories by Darwin's brother. It's marker's where that bad genes are hereditary and passed on. They believed the only option was the sterilization of many disabled and minority communities. It was believed to be a viable -and used- option towards a greater (whiter) race. Those that followed Eugenics where openly classist and racist. It seemed an odd fit for a woman who wanted to help all women of all classes. Sanger's hope was to supplement the prejudiced ideas by eugenicists, by offering birth control as a healthier alternative to sterilization. This did not catch on. Thus signing Margaret forever to the negative ideologues which she did not hold. It should be noted that the men of Eugenics didn't support her theories nor her within their group.
Hero, crusader, educator, prisoner... Nouns don't make up a person, but verbs, actions, and words do. We have to look at the legacy of the woman, how she tried to help the impoverished women. Her fight to help women have options. Her legacy and fight are still being carried on.
December 4, 2019
A most readable biography of the birth control crusader, Margaret Sanger. It describes very well her life, her family and her single-mindedness in espousing the cause to allow women to control their pregnancies. She brought this to the forefront of America’s consciousness and later expanded it to the entire globe, when she traveled to Japan, India, England and many other locations.
I used the term “crusade” above deliberately because “birth control”, as the author vividly depicts, was at the forefront of Margaret Sanger’s life taking precedence over all else – husbands’ (she was married twice), children, extended family and friends. In essence she was married to “birth control”.
The book recounts all the obstacles Margaret Sanger had to overcome and also the territoriality of the different groups struggling for the emancipation of women in the early 1900’s. When one contrasts the battle to give women the right to vote, which is now “etched in stone” (would a sane candidate for political office today run on a platform to deny women the right to vote!); versus the right of women to control their bodies which is going on to this very day – where various right-wing groups are constantly trying and succeeding in whittling away the rights of women to have needed access to birth control and abortion; we sadly realize that Margaret Sanger’s fight, that began almost one hundred years ago, is not yet over. More Margaret Sanger’s are required to continue the battle for woman to control their pregnancies.
This is an excellent biography that presents, not a saintly Margaret Sanger, but a human being obsessed with her worthy cause and saw it too much as a panacea resolving all of societies problems.
I used the term “crusade” above deliberately because “birth control”, as the author vividly depicts, was at the forefront of Margaret Sanger’s life taking precedence over all else – husbands’ (she was married twice), children, extended family and friends. In essence she was married to “birth control”.
The book recounts all the obstacles Margaret Sanger had to overcome and also the territoriality of the different groups struggling for the emancipation of women in the early 1900’s. When one contrasts the battle to give women the right to vote, which is now “etched in stone” (would a sane candidate for political office today run on a platform to deny women the right to vote!); versus the right of women to control their bodies which is going on to this very day – where various right-wing groups are constantly trying and succeeding in whittling away the rights of women to have needed access to birth control and abortion; we sadly realize that Margaret Sanger’s fight, that began almost one hundred years ago, is not yet over. More Margaret Sanger’s are required to continue the battle for woman to control their pregnancies.
This is an excellent biography that presents, not a saintly Margaret Sanger, but a human being obsessed with her worthy cause and saw it too much as a panacea resolving all of societies problems.
October 29, 2012
The book is at its' best when it is placing Sanger's stories and experiences within a broader context of other social movements or when tracing the arc of court decisions and legislation. Informative and clear.
The book is at its' worst when it tries to address without really delving into the issue - questions of whether Sanger was a "good" mother, whether her motives were driven by ambition etc. My guess is the author has a lot of messy, complicated, ambivalent feelings about Sanger and knows that those are the topic for another book but cannot quite make peace with how to mention them within her genre. Another example of an issue that peppers the book throughout but that the author never really illuminates is those who criticize Sanger for placing birth control within the province of the medical establishment, especially male doctors. I am guessing that this was a first wave feminist critique of Sanger but have no idea if I'm right because Baker never spells out just who is criticizing Sanger for that and what alternatives her critics believe may have existed through which birth control might have not fallen with the province of the medical establishment and/or men.
The book is at its' worst when it tries to address without really delving into the issue - questions of whether Sanger was a "good" mother, whether her motives were driven by ambition etc. My guess is the author has a lot of messy, complicated, ambivalent feelings about Sanger and knows that those are the topic for another book but cannot quite make peace with how to mention them within her genre. Another example of an issue that peppers the book throughout but that the author never really illuminates is those who criticize Sanger for placing birth control within the province of the medical establishment, especially male doctors. I am guessing that this was a first wave feminist critique of Sanger but have no idea if I'm right because Baker never spells out just who is criticizing Sanger for that and what alternatives her critics believe may have existed through which birth control might have not fallen with the province of the medical establishment and/or men.
July 15, 2017
Where do I start? This book was boring, tedious, annoying, endless, exhausting, and lacked the ability to be interesting.
I admit I know much more about the Canadian birth control movement than I do about Sanger and her movement. I have also read extensively on Canadian birth control movements and they always mention Sanger and her crusade. That said, Sanger appeared to be in the right place and the right time and was introduced or became acquainted with the right people.
This book was all over the place. As I see it, Margaret Sanger wanted women and men to have the information needed to control how many children they would have. Instead we read about eugenics, genetics, world overpopulation and abortion.
I was annoyed at the writer, Jean H. Baker, for not even acknowledging Canada in any of the politics of getting birth control available to all women. To be honest there is one sentence in the book with Canada in it. We are just slightly north of the United States and the secondary boarder to to start making a wall.
Can I find a positive? Yes, I read it now I can argue very effectively on why I did not like this book!
I admit I know much more about the Canadian birth control movement than I do about Sanger and her movement. I have also read extensively on Canadian birth control movements and they always mention Sanger and her crusade. That said, Sanger appeared to be in the right place and the right time and was introduced or became acquainted with the right people.
This book was all over the place. As I see it, Margaret Sanger wanted women and men to have the information needed to control how many children they would have. Instead we read about eugenics, genetics, world overpopulation and abortion.
I was annoyed at the writer, Jean H. Baker, for not even acknowledging Canada in any of the politics of getting birth control available to all women. To be honest there is one sentence in the book with Canada in it. We are just slightly north of the United States and the secondary boarder to to start making a wall.
Can I find a positive? Yes, I read it now I can argue very effectively on why I did not like this book!
March 19, 2013
As a subject matter, the book deserves 5 stars. As a good read, closer to 2 stars. The author obviously did a lot of research on Margaret Sanger and apparently felt compelled to record every last detail in this biography. The book felt long and drawn out. To her credit, I believe Jean Baker accomplished what she set out to do, and that was to dispel the misconceptions about Margaret Sanger. I enjoyed discovering Margaret Sanger and learning about her courage, drive, persistence and fortitude. Women of the 20th and 21st century should all feel indebted to her.
April 1, 2013
Margaret Sanger was a social pioneer during a time of great change in this country. The events of the time combined with a psychological profile of the determined, yet flawed, Sanger should have made for interesting reading. Unfortunately, the writing was dull and plodding. There must be better books on the subject out there.
did-not-finish
December 31, 2011Decided that although Margaret Sanger was an interesting person, I really didn't care about her enough to finish this book.
February 3, 2012
I had a very hard time getting in to this book and ended up not finishing it.
March 21, 2020
(3.5 stars) This is a biography of one of the key advocates for birth control in the United States and throughout the world. She started as a nurse and midwife in New York and saw firsthand how large families struggled and the toll on the children and parents. Margaret Sanger was not a saint, but she was dogged in her determination to advocate for sexual education and various forms of birth control leading up to her support for the research on oral contraceptives later in her life. Her articles, magazine, and later her clinics found her in trouble with the law frequently, but she withstood the pressure and eventually the law and public opinion swayed in her favor. She was infamous for her various love affairs and some of her positions have not stood up well in time, but her work in founding the organization that became Planned Parenthood has had a major impact on women. I learned that she spent her later years in Tucson and in doing my own research, found that she was an active part of the community, being a part of the Watercolor Guild, joining the Tucson Country Club, and serving on the board of the Tucson Medical Center. She saw the overturn of the last state law against birth control prior to her death in 1966.
February 4, 2024
This book agreed with the last Sanger book I read: She was a eugenisist but not a racist. This book went much more in detail to her personal life. I understand now why the last author was so against her: Sanger hated the Catholic church for it's stance on birth control and she confronted them multiple times. She really wanted women to be free to enjoy sex without having to worry about pregnancy. And she also did her best to work within the law while at the same time, pushing against it. It really is amazing what she was able to accomplish in her lifetime.
June 30, 2017
Fascinating biography ranging such tumultuous times from 1879-1966. I didn't realize she came up with the name "birth control," and that it applied to everything else -- the pill (which she long had a vision for) only really took off in 1960.
August 20, 2020
Fact filled book about how a singularly- minded person can change the world. Sadly, Melinda Gates is telling the same story 100 years later about men and institutions prohibiting women from controlling their health and lives by restricting access to readily available and affordable birth control.
March 11, 2024
The Moral and Legal Conflicts Continue
This was a very thorough depiction of Margaret Sanger’s life passion and accomplishments.
We see today a continuation of many of the same legal and moral conflicts facing women and humankind.
This was a very thorough depiction of Margaret Sanger’s life passion and accomplishments.
We see today a continuation of many of the same legal and moral conflicts facing women and humankind.
February 20, 2019
Despite the world's persisting problems, this recount of history reminds us that at least it's better than it used to be! Thank you, Margaret Sanger.
December 24, 2022
I do not support all of Margaret Sanger's missions. However, this book provided a lot of information and appeared to be unbiased-stating the good, bad, and ugly.
April 26, 2023
What a debt of gratitude all of humanity owes Ms. Sanger!
March 14, 2013
Margaret Sanger was born in 1879, the sixth child in an Irish Catholic family that became 11 children, six years after passage of the Comstock Act. The Act prohibited mailing of and distribution of obscene materials and at that time anything dealing with reproduction was considered obscene. Within the crowded family living conditions Sanger’s father taught her to think for herself.
Anti-choice advocates use a caricature of Sanger as propaganda against Planned Parenthood. Though portrayed as advocating abortion, Sanger saw birth control as a means to end abortions. When she is portrayed as a racist and eugenicist one must realize the importance of context. During that era of our history eugenics was advocated by presidents e.g. Theodore Roosevelt, as well as Supreme Court Justices like Oliver Wendell Holmes, and leading scientists of the time.
Professional nursing was just beginning and was one of the few professions open to women. Sanger went into nursing, especially obstetrics, though she never got a degree. At that time and continuing to the present is contested territoriality between doctors and nurses. At that time the major controversy was whether female nurses should take care of male patients because American folklore considered nurses to be promiscuous. However, there was little controversy over young women taking care of male patients with contagious diseases e.g. gonorrhea and tuberculosis. The major nursing text-book of the time, Weeks-Shaw Text-book of Nursing did not cover birth control or abortion.
The biography continues to discuss the reticence of the medical profession to endorse birth control. They had no economic interest in limiting births. In addition to doctors, the Catholic Church and other fundamentalist churches fought against provision of birth control information. The Catholic Church even directed police as they shut down meetings which Sanger arranged.
Amazingly, Sanger’s numerous affairs were not brought to light at that time. Apparently she was a free spirit when it came to sex and possessed an animal magnetism that several men couldn’t resist. However, her consistent passion, which all her lovers had to contend with, was fighting to get birth control freely available to all women.
Anti-choice advocates use a caricature of Sanger as propaganda against Planned Parenthood. Though portrayed as advocating abortion, Sanger saw birth control as a means to end abortions. When she is portrayed as a racist and eugenicist one must realize the importance of context. During that era of our history eugenics was advocated by presidents e.g. Theodore Roosevelt, as well as Supreme Court Justices like Oliver Wendell Holmes, and leading scientists of the time.
Professional nursing was just beginning and was one of the few professions open to women. Sanger went into nursing, especially obstetrics, though she never got a degree. At that time and continuing to the present is contested territoriality between doctors and nurses. At that time the major controversy was whether female nurses should take care of male patients because American folklore considered nurses to be promiscuous. However, there was little controversy over young women taking care of male patients with contagious diseases e.g. gonorrhea and tuberculosis. The major nursing text-book of the time, Weeks-Shaw Text-book of Nursing did not cover birth control or abortion.
The biography continues to discuss the reticence of the medical profession to endorse birth control. They had no economic interest in limiting births. In addition to doctors, the Catholic Church and other fundamentalist churches fought against provision of birth control information. The Catholic Church even directed police as they shut down meetings which Sanger arranged.
Amazingly, Sanger’s numerous affairs were not brought to light at that time. Apparently she was a free spirit when it came to sex and possessed an animal magnetism that several men couldn’t resist. However, her consistent passion, which all her lovers had to contend with, was fighting to get birth control freely available to all women.
March 29, 2012
Accessibly written, well researched book about the extraordinary life of the founder of the birth control movement. This book answered a lot of questions for me about Sanger: whether she was a racist (no), a eugenicist (yes), a feminist (resoundingly yes). Was she supportive of abortion as an option for women to terminate pregnancy? That one still remains unclear, as Sanger mainly wrote and spoke about the importance of contraception as birth control, and its crucial role in preventing pregnancy, thus eliminating any need for such a procedure - a remarkably short-sighted view for a woman so realistic and ahead of her time in other ways.
I was expecting to be disappointed reading about her indefensible eugenic beliefs (based on incorrect genetics, she espoused involuntary sterilization of the "feeble-minded", insane, and criminal, which the science of her day dictated were hereditary traits, for the "betterment" of the human race). I was not expecting to read how commonly held eugenic beliefs were during Sanger's career: Teddy Roosevelt believed that people qualified to go to Harvard were a dying breed, 2/3 of Americans supported involuntary sterilization for people with mental illness, and doctors refused voluntary sterilization for women whose age multiplied by the number of children they had equaled lower than 120. Oh, and by the way, medical writings containing information on women's reproductive organs were classified as "obscene," and therefore illegal, as were birth control devices such as the early diaphragm. WTF??????
Despite her inexcusable support of an oppressive ideal built on incorrect scientific beliefs, hypocrisy, and classism, Sanger lead an extraordinary life. Her strength and resilience are inspiring, as well as her words on women's rights to pursue happiness by choosing to separate sex from reproduction. We should all be grateful to her for the option to live our lives and responsibly choose when, and if, that will involve parenthood.
This book is especially inspiring to read at a time when politicians are arguing about citizens' freedom to marry whomever they choose - looking at how far we've come, there's renewed hope!
I was expecting to be disappointed reading about her indefensible eugenic beliefs (based on incorrect genetics, she espoused involuntary sterilization of the "feeble-minded", insane, and criminal, which the science of her day dictated were hereditary traits, for the "betterment" of the human race). I was not expecting to read how commonly held eugenic beliefs were during Sanger's career: Teddy Roosevelt believed that people qualified to go to Harvard were a dying breed, 2/3 of Americans supported involuntary sterilization for people with mental illness, and doctors refused voluntary sterilization for women whose age multiplied by the number of children they had equaled lower than 120. Oh, and by the way, medical writings containing information on women's reproductive organs were classified as "obscene," and therefore illegal, as were birth control devices such as the early diaphragm. WTF??????
Despite her inexcusable support of an oppressive ideal built on incorrect scientific beliefs, hypocrisy, and classism, Sanger lead an extraordinary life. Her strength and resilience are inspiring, as well as her words on women's rights to pursue happiness by choosing to separate sex from reproduction. We should all be grateful to her for the option to live our lives and responsibly choose when, and if, that will involve parenthood.
This book is especially inspiring to read at a time when politicians are arguing about citizens' freedom to marry whomever they choose - looking at how far we've come, there's renewed hope!
February 11, 2012
Having come to this book knowing relatively little about the history of birth control, my biggest criticism is the organization of the book. Jean Baker used a roughly chronological format within which the information was subdivided into themes. The problem with this is that the themes were occasionally imposed on and frequently altered the chronology of Sanger's life. Historic events were described in early chapters whereupon the next chapter backtracked to before the occurrence of these events. The 20s and 30s were exceedingly muddled in my opinion. I was never quite able to put anything in context without knowing for certain which court cases had been tried or which conferences held. Perhaps this could have been alleviated with a short chronology in the index of the book or perhaps I was an inattentive reader, but I feel that it was lacking in focus.
Other than this, I found the book's discussion of early nursing practices to be enlightening and the general history of Sanger to be well-written -- though I am reminded that what little I knew about Sanger before reading this book was culled from a 1936 LIFE magazine article and therefore I am not at all equipped to judge the veracity of Baker's facts. I feel that some of the information could well be controversial as Sanger is not always depicted glowingly, but I think it made it rather more believable.
All in all, I am glad I read it.
Other than this, I found the book's discussion of early nursing practices to be enlightening and the general history of Sanger to be well-written -- though I am reminded that what little I knew about Sanger before reading this book was culled from a 1936 LIFE magazine article and therefore I am not at all equipped to judge the veracity of Baker's facts. I feel that some of the information could well be controversial as Sanger is not always depicted glowingly, but I think it made it rather more believable.
All in all, I am glad I read it.
May 20, 2013
Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion is about a woman who was born around 1879, became a nurse, and devoted her life to giving women the right to birth control in order to space their children farther apart. She saw too many poor women die in childbirth because their bodies could no longer handle bearing children and the poverty level kept families from being able to provide for so many children. The topic of the book was very interesting; unfortunately the book it self was not interesting.
The author turned me off during the first chapter. Ireland uses one order of wording and the United States reverses the order; i.e. County Cork in Ireland. The author chose to call this Cork County more than once. I find it difficult to connect to an author who doesn't use correct wording. Also, I have previously been a proofreader. The typographical mistakes made it difficult to stay focused on the story. There were 307 pages not including the index at the end of the book. The first chapter describing the birth and childhood of Margaret Sanger. The next interesting part of the book came during the last 15 pages of the book. The only reason I finished the book is after investing that much time to read most of it I prefer to finish books rather than give up after starting to read a book.
The author turned me off during the first chapter. Ireland uses one order of wording and the United States reverses the order; i.e. County Cork in Ireland. The author chose to call this Cork County more than once. I find it difficult to connect to an author who doesn't use correct wording. Also, I have previously been a proofreader. The typographical mistakes made it difficult to stay focused on the story. There were 307 pages not including the index at the end of the book. The first chapter describing the birth and childhood of Margaret Sanger. The next interesting part of the book came during the last 15 pages of the book. The only reason I finished the book is after investing that much time to read most of it I prefer to finish books rather than give up after starting to read a book.
February 28, 2016
It's amazing (but not particularly surprising) to read about the things that used to be illegal in the United States. This biography of Margaret Sanger, the fervent birth control advocate whose efforts began about one hundred years ago, reveals a great deal about the attitudes, laws, and fears about sex and reproduction that were prevalent in America back then (and still linger in some quarters today). A really interesting book about a really interesting woman. The book was more compelling in its earlier chapters, dealing with the years before, during, and after World War I. I knew very little about Sanger until recently; not much more than her name, which comes up occasionally in modern news coverage about the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood, which Sanger founded. Discussion of her in The Secret History of Wonder Woman piqued my interest, which lead me to this book.
If you're a parent, and you have fewer than fifteen children, then Margaret Sanger may have had something to do with that.
If you're a parent, and you have fewer than fifteen children, then Margaret Sanger may have had something to do with that.
February 23, 2012
I'd give this a 3.5 stars. Margaret Sanger's life was truly inspired for a woman of her time or anytime for that matter. She was a woman with a vision and she would not be deterred. So many have wanted to label her with abortion advocate yet she truly was far more about contraception and education about the female anatomy and the freedom for women to really know and appreciate their bodies. She was about motherhood as a choice. And not about terminating pregnancy but choosing to prevent pregnancy as a choice through contraception for all women. The privileged women of her time had been afforded some education on reducing family size yet the poor among her were left without education and suffered the ills of large families and continues poverty. Fascinating and inspiring life. The writing and movement of the book however seemed to be a little slow and some information seemed to be repeated leaving the book longer than it probably needed to be.
March 13, 2012
Good, but didn't necessarily knock my socks off. It was interesting to read about how difficult a subject Sanger must have been to biographize, given her persistent misinformation campaign about her age and obfuscating of other personal details. There were also a few points where the chronology felt a bit muddled (Baker would be discussing the 1930s, and then mention a conference from 1925, for example) so I advise readers to pay close attention to dates. Given Baker's discussions of Sanger's relationship with eugenics, the African-American community, the development of the birth control pill, and the terminology surrounding "birth control" vs "family planning", this book feels very timely and more relevant than it might have just a few years ago. This book isn't going to change your life, but if you're interested in women's reproductive rights and the history of the movement, this would be a good place to start. (Though I'm open to more recommendations, friends!)
May 15, 2012
I really wanted to rate this book higher than I did just because I admire Sanger so much. I admire Sanger and am sad and angry that the same battles she fought continue even into the 21st C. She said as many as 100 years ago that government has no business governing women's bodies. And here we are. I cannot judge the accuracy of the biography but I am suspicious as a blatant error was repeated twice when the author referred to "Darwinism's notion of survival of the fittest". She made this error twice, on pages 143 and 229. Of course Darwin did not place judgement on evolutionary changes he observed and documented. Spencer was the proponent of eugenics who coined this term as a method of politicizing evolutionary theory. I can only take the accuracy of the rest of the book at face value but this concerned me.
April 16, 2012
Margaret Sanger was definitely a fascinating woman to whom all of us committed to feminist issues and woman’s rights owe a great debt. I only wish this biography of her had been as riveting as her actual life story. I read a review of this biography by an author whom I respect, and she commented that she felt the lack of analysis of the impact of Sanger’s life and the context in which she lived (for example, Sanger’s support of the eugenics movement). This biography was definitely in the this-happened-and-then-this-happened-and-then-this-happened style. I might not recommend it as a person’s first choice in reading about Sanger; I have heard that Ellen Chesler’s biography has more of the contextual analysis I might have preferred.
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