Contraception: A History

by Robert Jütte

Contraception is not an invention of modern times, nor is it a purely personal matter. Social institutions such as the church and the state have exerted their influence as effectively as doctors, population theorists, and the early pioneers of the feminist movement. All of these claim a special expertise in matters of ethics and morality, and so have shaped the discourses on and practices of birth control over the centuries. In this engaging new book Robert Jütte offers a history of contraception from the Ancient world to the present day. He distinguishes two broad first, a long phase, extending from the Ancient world up to the 18th century, in which birth control was part of a traditional form of sexual knowledge what Jütte calls, following the French social philosopher Michel Foucault, the ars erotica. In the second phase, which began in the 19th century, practices of birth control are increasingly shaped by the emerging models of scientific knowledge, while still retaining some vestiges of the erotic arts. In addition to the contraceptives we know and use today, from coitus interruptus to the condom and the pill, Jütte considers other methods of birth control as diverse as the use of herbal potions and vaginal pessaries, the castration of young boys and the enforced sterilization of men and women. This comprehensive history of one of the oldest and most widespread of human practices offers a rich and nuanced account of how men and women across the centuries have struggled with the needs both for sexual gratification and for limitation of offspring, while also looking beyond the present to catch a glimpse of how contraception might evolve in the future.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[saizine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable and informative history of contraception in the Western world - certainly a good place to start for anyone looking to get into the subject. Also a very good primer/context for reading Fisher and Szreter's oral history interviews. I particularly enjoyed "The Beginnings of scientia sexualis in the Nineteenth Century: The Impact of Moral and Political Imperatives on the Debate about Contraception", "An Everyday Regime: The 'Democratization' of Birth Control in the Twentieth Century", and "The 'Pill for men": the contraceptive of the future?". (Read for a university course.)

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of information, but it tends to get lost in the words.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting information, but largely Euro-centric. Not good enough to finish reading.

[Cynda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Facts and generalizations. Dry. Poorly organized. Couldn't read one more page. I read to 165 pages out of 220 and just could not do the home stretch. Boooorrrringgg.
Jutte did a terrible job of organizing. His Chapters should have been Sections; the headings should have been chapters; the smaller chapters could have been broken up into sections that would focus readers' attention. I kept seeing facts and generalizations with very few specifics to flesh out the book. I want a book about such a personal topic to tell me the personal experience of people along the way. In the first chapter (really section), Jutte writes of the historical religious-sexual traditions, including the major world religions of the West: Christianity, Judiasm, Islam. Then he drops Islamic framework within the first section and drops the Judiaistic framework about the same time. I am thinking about the time he picks up Protestant and Catholic thought. I could go on, but I am sick of this book.
The good news: I borrowed this book from the library, so am out no money. The library system has other books on the same subject, so another book possibly next women's history month.