Contraception and Modern Ireland

A Social History, c. 1922-92

Inbunden, Engelska, 2023

AvLaura Kelly

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Contraception was the subject of intense controversy in twentieth-century Ireland. Banned in 1935 and stigmatised by the Catholic Church, it was the focus of some of the most polarised debates before and after its legalisation in 1979. This is the first comprehensive, dedicated history of contraception in Ireland from the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 to the 1990s. Drawing on the experiences of Irish citizens through a wide range of archival sources and oral history, Laura Kelly provides insights into the lived experiences of those negotiating family planning, alongside the memories of activists who campaigned for and against legalisation. She highlights the influence of the Catholic Church's teachings and legal structures on Irish life showing how, for many, sex and contraception were obscured by shame. Yet, in spite of these constraints, many Irish women and men showed resistance in accessing contraceptive methods. This title is also available as Open Access.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2023-02-23
Mått155 x 235 x 23 mm
Vikt720 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor378
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9781108839105

Tillhör följande kategorier

Medicinhistoria inom Medicin

Introduction; 1. Access to contraception and family planning information in Ireland from the 1920s to the 1950s; 2. Sexual knowledge and morality from the 1940s to the 1970s; 3. Birth control practices and attitudes to contraception in the 1960s and 1970s; 4. The pill, women's agency and doctor-patient relationships in the 1960s and 1970s; 5. The Catholic Church, 'sympathetic' priests and religious influences on family planning after Humane Vitae; 6. Family planning clinics and activism in the 1970s; 7. Feminist campaigns for free, safe and legal contraception in the 1970s; 8. Campaigns against contraception in 1970s and 1980s Ireland; 9. Family planning after the Family Planning Act: access to contraception in 1980s and 1990s Ireland; Conclusion; Appendix.

'As reproductive rights emerge with visceral relevance on the international stage, Laura Kelly's intervention with Contraception and Modern Ireland provides a timely reminder that playing politics with people's bodies ends in bedrooms, bathrooms and backstreets of fear. This is a history which finds its rhythm in women's words and those of the first interviewee sum up much of the paradox of Irish society's response to contraception in the twentieth century. 'We were awful innocent', Deirdre, a mother of six recalls, 'We were awful innocent'. Indeed, the awfulness often sat in deadly proximity to that innocence causing, until Kelly's book, untold misery, fear, and anxiety. This impressive book charts the history of the last generation in Ireland to live without access to legal contraception. It explores the implications of that legacy, the shifting ground of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the development and impact of reproductive activism, and, through oral history, accesses for the first time the quiet, private and everyday ways women and men negotiated the realities of 'awful innocence' in the bedroom.' Lindsey Earner-Byrne, University College Cork