Submission Type
Poster
Start Date
April 2020
Abstract
The birth control pill was legalized in the United States in 1965, and 34 years later, in 1999, the birth control pill was legalized in Japan. For decades, Japan clung to pronatalist ideas for moral and economic reasons; preventing births and abortions were not socially acceptable actions. Furthermore, a decreased birth rate was considered an economic threat, as a smaller workforce would seemingly result in decreased productivity. Despite the negative preconceptions about the effects of birth control being long-held in Japanese society, activists, such as Margaret Sanger and Shidzue Ishimoto, disputed them by opposing the government's censorship policies. Activists sought to educate people about how valuable birth control and family planning could be; it can allow women to gain more independence, women to preserve their health, families to prevent economically burdensome births, etc. We will present an overview of the world wide Birth Control Movement, with a specific focus on American influence on the Japanese Birth Control Movement with our poster. The Birth Control Movement in Japan will be our primary focus, as the nation took particularly long to accept birth control.
Recommended Citation
Brooks, Rachel; Schad, Kassidy; Collins, Katherine; and de Onis, Katie, "201— American Influence on Japanese Birth Control" (2020). GREAT Day Posters. 105.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-symposium/great-day-2020/posters-2020/105
Included in
Asian History Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
201— American Influence on Japanese Birth Control
The birth control pill was legalized in the United States in 1965, and 34 years later, in 1999, the birth control pill was legalized in Japan. For decades, Japan clung to pronatalist ideas for moral and economic reasons; preventing births and abortions were not socially acceptable actions. Furthermore, a decreased birth rate was considered an economic threat, as a smaller workforce would seemingly result in decreased productivity. Despite the negative preconceptions about the effects of birth control being long-held in Japanese society, activists, such as Margaret Sanger and Shidzue Ishimoto, disputed them by opposing the government's censorship policies. Activists sought to educate people about how valuable birth control and family planning could be; it can allow women to gain more independence, women to preserve their health, families to prevent economically burdensome births, etc. We will present an overview of the world wide Birth Control Movement, with a specific focus on American influence on the Japanese Birth Control Movement with our poster. The Birth Control Movement in Japan will be our primary focus, as the nation took particularly long to accept birth control.
Comments
Sponsor: Catherine Adams, Associate Professor of History at SUNY Geneseo