The Politics of Duplicity: Controlling Reproduction in Ceausescu's Romania [Hardcover]

Gail Kligman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0520210743 | ISBN-13: 978-0520210745 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"Essentially an ethnography about politics, public policy, and lived experience, this timely analysis of the Orwellian tragedy of Ceausescu's Romania is superbly researched--a cross-disciplinary contribution of immense value and wide interest that in places almost reads like a novel."--Henry P. David, author of Born Unwanted

From the Back Cover

"Essentially an ethnography about politics, public policy, and lived experience, this timely analysis of the Orwellian tragedy of Ceausescu's Romania is superbly researched (a cross-disciplinary contribution of immense value and wide interest that in places almost reads like a novel." (Henry P. David, author of Born Unwanted)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (July 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520210743
• ISBN-13: 978-0520210745
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,583,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It could happen again, February 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Politics of Duplicity: Controlling Reproduction in Ceausescu's Romania (Paperback)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vai, Alexandru, n-a fost atat de rau!, March 21, 2000

By 

Jay Sorensen (Bistrita, Romania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Politics of Duplicity: Controlling Reproduction in Ceausescu's Romania (Hardcover)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Personal Stories, August 21, 2007

By 

Roger Crowley "amateur historian" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Politics of Duplicity: Controlling Reproduction in Ceausescu's Romania (Paperback)

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.