The Politics of Duplicity: Controlling Reproduction in Ceausescu's Romania
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Manufacturer: University of California Press
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.909498
EAN: 9780520210752
ISBN: 0520210751
Label: University of California Press
Manufacturer: University of California Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 350
Publication Date: 1998-07-06
Publisher: University of California Press
Studio: University of California Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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The political hypocrisy and personal horrors of one of the most repressive anti-abortion regimes in history came to the world's attention soon after the fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Photographs of orphans with vacant eyes, sad faces, and wasted bodies circled the globe, as did alarming maternal mortality statistics and heart-breaking details of a devastating infant AIDS epidemic. Gail Kligman's chilling ethnography--of the state and of the politics of reproduction--is the first in-depth examination of this extreme case of political intervention into the most intimate aspects of everyday life.
Ceausescu's reproductive policies, among which the banning of abortion was central, affected the physical and emotional well-being not only of individual men, women, children, and families but also of society as a whole. Sexuality, intimacy, and fertility control were fraught with fear, which permeated daily life and took a heavy moral toll as lying and dissimulation transformed both individuals and the state. This powerful study is based on moving interviews with women and physicians as well as on documentary and archival material. In addition to discussing the social implications and human costs of restrictive reproductive legislation, Kligman explores the means by which reproductive issues become embedded in national and international agendas. She concludes with a review of the lessons the rest of the world can learn from Romania's tragic experience.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting Personal Stories
Comment: This book speaks of the heartaches of scores of women due to a misguided 1966 Decree that was meant to create a new generation of socialists by removing birth control from the options available to the people. Although this is a book about women and their special struggles, as a man I found it interesting. My wife is Romanian and can corroborate many of the stories of these women to be true (or at least reasonable). But I'm also grateful that Gail Kligman didn't dwell on the sensationalism that the popular Western press loved to print following the Decree. In fact, she denies much of the fanciful stuff written to sell newspapers. There weren't masses of perverted bosses standing there watching gynecological exams. But the author does stress the heart-wrenching, personal stories of women who were forced to deal with this foolish Decree 770, many times to the detriment of their health or life.
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Summary: It could happen again
Comment: Although this is a book about a specific place during a specific period, what makes it so chilling is how it describes a descent of little steps into a nightmare world. For those who may even have lived through it thinking "it wasn't that bad," this book provides the opportunity to take a step back and realize "it was worse than we even imagined." Ms. Kligman's account is clarion call for the importance of taking a stand in every society in order to preserve the values we hold dear, but which are in fact as fragile as the weakest among us.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Vai, Alexandru, n-a fost atat de rau!
Comment: I'm an American woman living and working in Romania, and I have to disagree with Alexandru. From all I hear from my friends both male and female, this book isn't off-target at all. It IS true that many people say Ceasescu's policies didn't affect their lives "all that much", but the people who did have unwanted pregnancies or were harassed because they didn't have enough children were and are real people. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in reproductive issues -- in either Romania or the U.S.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unprofessionally written, innacurate statistics
Comment: None of the data are believable! The statistics are made up and it lacks objectivity as if written by an emotional and nervous wreck. Originally from Romania, I can testify that data on births and abortion could not and cannot yet be obtained, also the reasoning behind data is consequently false. It is a collection of false assumption. Too bad something like this (of substandard quality) has been published!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unprofessionally written, innacurate statistics
Comment: None of the data are believable! The statistics are made up and it lacks objectivity as if written by an emotional and nervous wreck. Originally from Romania, I can testify that data on births and abortion could not and cannot yet be obtained, also the reasoning behind data is consequently false. It is a collection of false assumption. Too bad something like this (of substandard quality) has been published!
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