Negotiating Reproductive Rights [Paperback]

Rosalind Petchesky (Editor), Karen Judd (Editor), IRRRAG (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1856495361 | ISBN-13: 978-1856495363 | Publication Date: June 15, 1998

This book grows out of IRRRAG’s four years of collaborative research and analysis in seven countries: Brazil, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, and the United States. Based on in-depth group and individual interviews with hundreds of women in diverse settings, the book asks when, whether and how grassroots women express a sense of entitlement or self-determination in everyday decisions about childbearing, work, marriage, fertility control and sexual relations. What strategies do women employ in their negotiations with parents, husbands or partners, health providers, and the larger community over reproductive and sexual matters? What role do economic constraints, religion, tradition, motherhood and group participation play in shaping their decisions?

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Cultural, religious, social, and political forces all interact to define the meaning of reproductive rights as well as to prescribe the extent to which these rights can be realized. IRRRAG researched reproductive rights in seven countries: Brazil, Egypt, Peninsular Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, and three U.S. communities. The main body of this book reports on IRRRAG's findings on such issues as access to healthcare and information about sexuality and family planning; changing economic and social realities vs. traditional practices and roles; and the variety and complexity of points of view even within the same country. In the final chapter, editors Petchesky (political science, CUNY) and Judd (a consultant and editor affiliated with the Ctr. for Global Solutions in New York), while acknowledging cultural and national differences, summarize some themes they found that transcend these boundaries. Highly recommended for women's studies and anthropology collections.?Faye Powell, Portland State Univ. Lib., OR
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is an extraordinary book--the result of a carefully nurtured process of cross-cultural collaboration and consultation. As such, it is a unique resource on one of the most challenging and contentious social issues of our time. The voices and experiences of women, their strengths and diversity, are captured here. Adrienne Germaine, International Women's Health Coalition

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856495361
• ISBN-13: 978-1856495363
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,049,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)