A new multimedia tool from the Population and Development Program out of Hampshire College chronicles the history of beliefs about population control. Stop the Blame: Population Control Imagery (1933-2008) is available for download or on CD, and lays out a ton of images from newspapers, magazines and other media from the last 70 years. The images illustrate exactly how our beliefs about population, developing countries and the environment have been shaped by eugenics, racism and many other ideological factors.
This digital flash archive displays historical prints, posters and articles that articulate overpopulation anxieties and illustrate population control policies. The interactive presentation offers a rare overview of the visual media of past and present population control agendas in the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa. It is a tool that can be used in classrooms, activist trainings, and public talks. Each image is accompanied by a written description that provides context and food for thought.
They were nice enough to send me a review copy of the CD and it is really a fantastic teaching tool. My blurb about the project:
The Stop the Blame multimedia project does what a simple written history cannot: it shows us the interplay between race, population, eugenics and the environment.... This project should be a required teaching tool for all history and sociology courses.
It's worth checking out, and best of all, it's free! You can download it or request a hard copy here.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Stop the Blame: Population Control Imagery (1933-2008).
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/11863
wow. that looks fascinating. "overpopulation" or it's variations is one of those words that raises my hackles, especially here, because it's generally used as a polite word for a lot of hateful shit.
i am super aware of all the fucked up ways that people have attempted population control in the past, however, i don't want anyone kidding themselves into thinking that overpopulation isn't an issue. and thats not about class or race or any of that, and i am not saying her kill or sterilize people either.. but its a huge issue regarding climate change, peak oil, and all natural resources that we rely on.
anyway, i am really excited about watching this and finding out what its all about.
I agree with cherylboberyl (bananafanafoferyl...) :D
It *IS* possible for a person to be well aware about the social, political, and economic causes of the ecological crisis, aware of the racist implications of population control as it has been imposed in the past, aware of all of the complexities involved in our current global situation but STILL insist that population is an important factor in the discussion.
This is not an either/or proposition: EITHER you discuss population in a racist, sociologically blind way OR you drop it out of the equation altogether.
There are other issues involved that need to be addressed ALONG with global capitalist maldistribution of wealth, racist and sexist international policies, and so on. Carrying capacity, the effect of the large human population on other species, and so on.
And then there's the simple question: just because the earth can, theoretically, sustain 9 billion people, doesn't mean it *should.* It's wonderful news that the population is levelling off, but look at the plateau that we've reached. Human population growth has been incredibly slow over time, being almost level, until the agricultural revolution and, even more transformative, the industrial revolution. Even in a perfectly utopian and egalitarian world, these kinds of numbers would create their own problems.
Overpopulation will take care of itself when we provide all women with access to affordable birth control and accurate sex education.
However, reproductive justice is not just a means to an end (end of overpopulation) but it is an end in itself. It appears that this organization focuses on that.
We also have to remember that fears about overpopulation aren't just about the sheer number of people on the planet, but also how resources are used and allocated. A person in the US uses way more resources (food, water, raw materials) and also contributes way more pollution than a person living in the developing world. This has to be part of the discussion as well.
Isn't it possible we (the U.S....and perhaps other parts of the developed world) use more resources because we actually have infrastructure--buildings (hospitals, homes, schools, etc.) that consume energy, grids that distribute heat, clean water, and electricity, etc.?
I disagree with the idea that "our" beliefs about these issues have been shaped by racism. Is it not possible that one might be concerned with overpopulation for rational reasons? I've taken implicit associations tests that suggest I'm not a racist, yet I find overpopulation to be a very serious issue.
For anyone who is willing to explore whether or not their views on population control reflects some sort of bias such as racism or classism, ask yourself questions like these:
What kind of people are those whose numbers need to be controlled? Those who "take" "your" tax money? Those who have "too many" children? Those who have children they "can't afford"? Families like the Duggars? Women like the mother of the octuplets? Republicans? Christian Conservatives? People in developing nations?
Those like Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, founder of the first birth control clinic in the US, a eugenicist who supported pre WWII German methods of population control, referred to as the "unfit"? Those interested in the history of population control shouldn't miss the writings of Margaret Sanger:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/
Try a search for the term "unfit" and peruse the following:
Margaret Sanger, "Birth Control and Racial Betterment," Feb 1919.
Published article. Source: Birth Control Review , Library of Congress Microfilm 131:0099B .
Margaret Sanger, "Birth Control: Yes or No?," [20 Sept 1919].
Published Article. Source: Fairplay, 20 Sept. 1919 , Margaret Sanger Microfilm C16: 125.
Margaret Sanger, "Prudence or Prudery in Sex Matters," 4 Oct 1919.
Published article. Source: Fairplay Oct. 4, 1919 , LCM 16:130.
Margaret Sanger, "The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda," Oct 1921.
Published Article. Source: Birth Control Review, Oct. 1921, 5 , Margaret Sanger MicrofilmS70:913 .
Margaret Sanger, "Stop Perpetuating The Unfit by a National Policy on Limitation of Families," 28 Dec 1921.
Published Article. Source: New York American, Dec. 28, 1921, 9. , Margaret Sanger MicrofilmC16:167. .
Margaret Sanger, "Is Race Suicide Probable?," 15 Aug 1925.
Published article. Source: Colliers, August 15, 1925, 25 , Margaret Sanger Microfilm C16:260 .
Margaret Sanger, "Human Conservation And Birth Control," March 3, 1938.
Typed speech. Source: Margaret Sanger Papers, Sophia Smith Collection , MSM S71:0977 .