Gender analysis of family planning: Beyond the feminist vs. population control debate

Ines Smyth

Feminist Economics, 1996, vol. 2, issue 2, 63-86

Abstract: This paper tries to assess whether the recent adoption by population establishment agencies of feminist language and concerns also embodies feminist visions and values, or whether it hides fundamental differences. In particular, the paper warns that this adoption may simply be an expression of the kind of instrumentalism common to many development policies which are recommended for the benefit of women.For this purpose, the paper describes the historical context of the apparent changes in the treatment of women by the population establishment. It then analyses feminist notions of reproduction, science and reproductive technologies, and how these inform critiques of family planning programs. Since such critiques are not uniform, in content or degree, this analysis includes the different feminist traditions from which they derive.

Keywords: Feminist theory; reproductive rights; population policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996
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DOI: 10.1080/13545709610001707656

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