The dangerous belief that granting women reproductive freedom poses a threat to "traditional" values is a myth that has long prospered in American politics, playing an especially vicious role in the development of totalitarianism in the West. How did such damaging ideas arise?
In Reproductive Wrongs, acclaimed translator and cultural historian Sarah Ruden exposes how ideologies that oppress women and families in the service of power took hold. Ruden traces a sweeping history through her trenchant analysis of seven pieces of literature that, she argues, marked key inflection points across two thousand years. From propagandistic poetry written by Ovid in the early Roman Empire to the biography of an evangelical American "abortion survivor", Ruden lays bare how doctrines of control over women were invented and propagated.
Scathing and vital, Reproductive Wrongs unearths the evolution of a right-wing radicalism that endures to this day.
| ISBN: | 9781324075905 |
| Publication date: | 17th April 2026 |
| Author: | Sarah Ruden |
| Publisher: | Liveright Publishing Corporation an imprint of Liveright |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 240 pages |
| Genres: |
Literary studies: general History of the Americas Social and cultural history Ethical issues: abortion and birth control Gender studies: women and girls |
The dangerous belief that granting women reproductive freedom poses a threat to "traditional" values is a myth that has long prospered in American politics, playing an especially vicious role in the development of totalitarianism in the West. How did such damaging ideas arise?
In Reproductive Wrongs, acclaimed translator and cultural historian Sarah Ruden exposes how ideologies that oppress women and families in the service of power took hold. Ruden traces a sweeping history through her trenchant analysis of seven pieces of literature that, she argues, marked key inflection points across two thousand years. From propagandistic poetry written by Ovid in the early Roman Empire to the biography of an evangelical American "abortion survivor", Ruden lays bare how doctrines of control over women were invented and propagated.
Scathing and vital, Reproductive Wrongs unearths the evolution of a right-wing radicalism that endures to this day.
Reproductive Wrongs features in the following genres: Literary studies: general, History of the Americas, Social and cultural history, Ethical issues: abortion and birth control, Gender studies: women and girls
Reproductive Wrongs is available in Hardback
Reproductive Wrongs was written by Sarah Ruden and published by Liveright Publishing Corporation an imprint of Liveright
Reproductive Wrongs has 240 pages
£18.00