Women, Love and Learning

Abortion and gender relationships in Ukraine, 1955–1970

“…Within the strictly patriarchal set of gender roles, abortion provided a means of post-coital family limitation that could be practiced without involving the husband, which made it a convenient way (if not the only way) of eliminating an unwanted pregnancy without risking spousal conflict. This method may thus abet a traditional patriarchal gender order (Paxson, 2002), and scholars often associate high abortion rates with a low level of female autonomy within the marriage (Browner, 2000;McIntosh, 2000;Szreter, 2002), though some (Cook, 2000;Mackinnon, 2010), contend that it can also indicate women's power over male pronatalism. It is therefore not yet clear how regional patriarchies can influence women's agency in abortion decisions, especially in societies where abortion rates are high.…”

“…Some argue that within a patriarchal context women have little possibility to exercise reproductive choice, and therefore abortion often becomes the only option (Browner, 2000;McIntosh, 2000). Others argue that women practice abortion to exercise their reproductive freedoms (Cook, 2000;Mackinnon, 2010). This question becomes even more complex when it comes to the Ukrainian Soviet context, where female empowerment was encouraged in public sphere, while traditional patriarchal gender roles prevailed within the household.…”

Strong families and declining fertility : a comparative study of family relations and reproductive careers in Soviet Ukraine

“…Some scholars, however, have found that, in some societies, women seek abortion, as they use it as their power to resist men's authority and thus make their own decisions (Cook, 2000;Mackinnon, 2010). Dissimilarities between patriarchal regimes (Therborn, 2004) led me to assume that women's agency in reproductive decisions can be shaped by the regional implementation of patriarchal values and associated spousal dynamics.…”

“…This method may thus encourage a traditional patriarchal gender order (Paxson, 2002), and scholars often associate high abortion rates with a low level of female autonomy within marriage (Browner, 2000;McIntosh, 2000;Szreter, 1996), although some (Cook, 2000;Mackinnon, 2010) contend that it can also indicate women's power over male pronatalism. It is therefore not yet clear how regional patriarchies can influence women's agency in abortion decisions, especially in societies where abortion rates are high.…”

“…Some argue that, within a patriarchal context, women have little possibility to exercise reproductive choice, and therefore abortion often becomes the only option (Browner, 2000;McIntosh, 2000). Others argue that women practise abortion to exercise their reproductive freedom (Cook, 2000;Mackinnon, 2010).…”