Laboratory of Deficiency: Sterilization and Confinement in California, 1900–1950s (Reproductive Justice: A New Vision for the 21st Century #6)

By: Natalie Lira

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Synopsis: Pacific Colony, a Southern California institution established to care for the "feebleminded," justified the incarceration, sterilization, and forced mutilation of some of the most vulnerable members of society from the 1920s through the 1950s. Institutional records document the convergence of ableism and racism in Pacific Colony. Analyzing a vast archive, Natalie Lira reveals how political concerns over Mexican immigration—particularly ideas about the low intelligence, deviant sexuality, and inherent criminality of the "Mexican race"—shaped decisions regarding the treatment and reproductive future of Mexican-origin patients. Laboratory of Deficiency documents the ways Mexican-origin people sought out creative resistance to institutional control and offers insight into how race, disability, and social deviance have been called upon to justify the confinement and reproductive constraint of certain individuals in the name of public health and progress.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
Book Size:: 284 Pages
ISBN-13:: 9780520975965
Related ISBNs:: 9780520355675, 9780520355682
Publisher:: University of California Press
Date of Addition:: 11/30/21
Copyrighted By:: Natalie Lira
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Disability-Related, Social Studies, Law, Legal Issues and Ethics
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.