Fertile Ground: Women, Earth, and the Limits of Control
By (Author) Irene Diamond
Beacon Press
Beacon Press
1st September 2018
United States
General
Non Fiction
Ethical issues: abortion and birth control
Population and demography
363.96
Paperback
224
Width 152mm, Height 229mm, Spine 13mm
312g
Feminism's emphasis on birth control is challenged in a study which reveals the masculine and mechanistic assumptions underlying arguments for birth control and abortion, and the belief that women's freedom comes from control of their bodies and their fertility. Writing as an ecofeminist, not as an anti-abortionist, she argues that the control of fertility denigrates women's bodies and exploitation of the earth, and that the West's preoccupation with population control in the Third World is both racist and imperialist.
Provocative. . . . Assumes passion and authority. -Janet Lembke, The New York Times Book Review"Irene Diamond offers her readers a provocative series of musings on a vital, but largely unexplored, concept: fertility. . . . Diamond's scope is wide-ranging, addressing reproductive technologies, agriculture, pornography, development and death, yet her work also has a highly personal quality. . . . As an intuitive foray, Fertile Ground sows many new seeds." -Karen Litfin, The Ecologist
"Irene Diamond's Fertile Ground is a provocative book. It stirs me to vigorous assent. It also triggers wide-eyed disbelief. . . . As it prods me to explosions of disagreement, it also provokes useful thought." -Janet Lembke, The New York Times Book Review
"One of the most provocative and original feminist books in years. . . . Diamond poses important questions and breaks ground for new thought about them." -Pat Monaghan, Booklist
Irene Diamond teaches political science and women's studies at the University of Oregon. Her previous books include Sex Roles in the State House and the coedited volumes Feminism and Foucault- Reflections on Resistance and Reweaving the World- The Emergence of Ecofeminism.