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The American Dream is “a white picket fence around a private yard, 2.4 children in the home, and a nice car two.“2 While this may be the image we associate with America, it has not always been as the cultural norm it is today, nor has it been as feasible. The American Dream is a middle class ideal, and for most families, both parents must work to remain middle class. It is thus too expensive for one partner to be home with many children.4The cultural shift to having fewer children being an ideal has come with scientific breakthroughs and societal movements. As we reflect on the mark Roe v. Wade left on the United States over its nearly 50-year precedent, let us not forget how the movements that preceded and paralleled it. This includes the increase in means of family planning originated from the voluntary motherhood movement, and that has today morphed into the Planned Parenthood organization.
Family planning, as defined by Merriam-Webster is “the practice of controlling the number of children in a family and the intervals between their births, particularly by means of artificial contraception of voluntary sterilization.”3 Family planning “dates back to the earliest days of humankind. There has never been a time when women and girls didn’t want to have control over whether, when, and how many children they would have.”9 Over the course of human history, there have been a wide range of methods used to prevent pregnancy. These include using natural chemicals as spermicides, proposed by Aristotle, or abstinence advocated for by Pliny, the Roman writer of Natural History.1 The technology has now greatly advanced, and today’s means of artificial contraception include barrier methods, like condoms and diaphragms, as well as hormonal methods, like IUD implants, and “the Pill.” In 1827, the female egg was discovered, leading to rapid advances in contraceptive devices, and by 1839, condoms were invented. Voluntary sterilization was developed later, a procedure in men called a vasectomy, and in a tubal ligation in women. While there have been great technological advances in these areas, there is also societal pushback against these methods. For example, the Roman Catholic Church, which has over 50 million members in the United States, only approves abstinence for unmarried couples, and the rather ineffective “natural family planning,” also known as “periodic abstinence.”10 This method relies on observation of the “naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle.”
Voluntary motherhood is a movement that goes hand in hand with family planning. The term originated in the late 1800’s and was the general term for a feminist birth control movement that demanded a role in family planning.5 The movement supported women having autonomous control over their own bodies and rejecting unwanted sex. This would result in women being able to choose when, or even if, they had children. While voluntary motherhood was the beginning of feminist birth control ideas in the United States, surprisingly, the movement did not initially support legalized abortion or birth control. The voluntary motherhood movement initially feared that legalized abortion and birth control would further enable abuse and control of women. Today’s women’s rights advocates are typically pro-birth control, which is more of a non-issue in today’s political climate, and pro-abortion, political dynamite in today’s climate.
The most controversial practice in family planning is abortion. Abortion was restricted in all states by 1880.6 Before this time, despite a lack of modern medicine, abortions, while uncommon, did take place. In 1973, Roe v. Wade, decriminalized abortion, and declared it a constitutional right in all 50 States. The most prominent organization surrounding abortion today was established in 1921, the American Birth Control League the precursor to the modern Planned Parenthood, which was established in 1942.1 In its early days, Planned Parenthood focused on fighting legal restrictions on contraceptives and helped birth control to gain a wider acceptance in America. When abortion was legalized in 1973, Planned Parenthood expanded to offer abortion services as well. As abortion is quite a controversial issue, protests at Planned Parenthood locations by anti-abortion groups are quite common.8
The American Dream, built on the desire to reach and maintain middle class status has only become achievable through technological advances in birth control. These technological advances have prompted legislation that has been both promoted and fought every step of the way. The voluntary motherhood movement, which promoted a role in family planning, lead to the family planning movement and expansion of birth control, including abortion. Finally culminating in Planned Parenthood, promoting access to abortion and other family planning services. How we remember these narratives will change over time. “America’s history has always been told through appropriated narratives, as later generations align themselves with the moral victories of earlier generations.”7 The debate over abortion will lead to processual reconstruction of memories regarding Roe v. Wade and all the movements surrounding it.
Citations:
[1] “A Timeline of Contraception | American Experience | PBS.” n.d. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-timeline/.
[2] “Column: Forget the White Picket Fence, the American Dream Is in the City.” 2016. PBS NewsHour. June 29, 2016. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/column-forget-the-white-picket-fence-the-american-dream-is-in-the-city.
[3] “Definition of FAMILY PLANNING.” 2023. April 15, 2023. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/family+planning.
[4] “Falling Fertility Rates: Why Do Wealthier People Have Fewer Children? | Nexus.” n.d. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://blog.iiasa.ac.at/2017/08/01/falling-fertility-rates-why-do-wealthier-people-have-fewer-children/.
[5] Gordon, Linda. 1973. “Voluntary Motherhood; The Beginnings of Feminist Birth Control Ideas in the United States.” Feminist Studies 1 (3/4): 5–22.
[6] “Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today.” n.d. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/abortion-central-history-reproductive-health-care-america/historical-abortion-law-timeline-1850-today.
[7] Magazine, Smithsonian, and Treva B. Lindsey. n.d. “What Did the Suffragists Really Think About Abortion?” Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-did-the-suffragists-really-think-about-abortion-180980124/.
[8] Reuters. 2017. “Calls for Protests for and Against Planned Parenthood.” The New York Times, February 11, 2017, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/11/us/planned-parenthood-protests.html.
[9] “The History of Family Planning.” 2019. November 12, 2019. https://fp2030.org/resources/history-family-planning.
[10] “What Is the Position of the Catholic Church on Natural Family Planning? – Institute of Clinical Bioethics.” n.d. Accessed April 20, 2023. https://sites.sju.edu/icb/what-is-the-position-of-the-catholic-church-on-natural-family-planning/.
I find it very interesting that, while less of an ideal standard, the idea of the ‘white picket fence’ life still holds weight over what the ideal American household should look like. This could be seen as the hegemonic power wanting to create a narrative of what a perfect life should look like. This also ties back into the idea of the American Dream, another hegemonic pushed narrative that tries to control how people in the United States structure the way that they live their lives. I also think that the idea you touched briefly on about two parents needing to work to remain middle class is another facet that has changed since the ‘establishment’ of the ideal life, however, the hegemonic power does not adapt and still pushes this ideal sentiment of how people should want to structure their lives.
I find the fact that the term “voluntary motherhood” had to be coined bewildering because that means “involuntary motherhood” had to be a thing. I wonder how much of motherhood was forced rather than a choice because women simply did not have other alternatives back then. There was a lack of financial freedom, causing women to rely on their husbands for everything. Otherwise, they risk homelessness or abuse. I question how much the Roe v Wade decision also affected financial liberation for women.
I think it is interesting how contraception has played into the changes in the American Dream/Ideal. As of present, the American dream accessible to past generations is largely unattainable for the general public. It has become increasingly difficult for a single income to support a couple, let alone a family. Dual income households rose to prominence during the same time as and partly thanks to the spread of abortion and contraception which enabled women to more easily stay in the workforce. I wonder therefore, if one of the likely outcomes of the overturning of Roe will be a threat to women’s roles in the workplace. Already in the wake of Dobbs, many large corporations have offered to pay for female workers’ abortions to keep them on the job. How will these intimate actions taken by corporations and the change in womens’ status in the workplace be remembered in the future?
I am extremely curious to know how the concept of the white picket fence life originated. The ideology behind the white picket fence life contradicts what the United States stands for and is appreciated for world wide – diversity. At some point in our history an invented ideology about the white picket fence life came up and it stuck with generations that followed. I personally think that the white picket fence life should be criticized and removed from our memory because it doesn’t promote diverse lifestyles and instead holds everyone to a certain standard. Who decided that a white picket fence lifestyle is the perfect route for all Americans?
There are also factors that aren’t considered when promoting the white picket fence life such as social and economic inequalities. The picket fence lifestyle doesn’t promote people to go above and beyond or follow their own individual path, instead it advocates for Americans to conform to a “societal” standards.
This post is very interesting to look back on what is perceived to be the American Dream and how many leaders try to sell this idea to the country, but simultaneously oppose female birth control and voluntary motherhood which allows a better chance to gain this dream. Having children is a very intense financial burden and responsibility so if a couple or woman is not suitable to take care of a child, then they should most likely be able to choose if they are comfortable having a child. This post looks at this idea of the American Dream and describes how female autonomy should be included in this despite it being looked at as wrong for years prior in the United States.
I really like your discussion about methods of birth control from societies thousands of years ago. I feel like a very persuasive and potent aspect of collective memory concerning abortion and birth control is its partial nature which focuses on the idea of the nuclear family, as mentioned in your post. Setting up abortion and birth control as antithetical to the “traditional” family is a distortion of the memory and history of women’s reproductive agency, creating the official hegemonic memory of abortion and birth control as “unnatural.” I wonder if emphasis on abortion and birth control being important and lasting aspects of societies and women’s lives throughout history and regardless of geography would help combat the partial collective memory of women’s reproductive care as “unnatural” and “untraditional.” Do you think this is possible, or is the memory of abortion as not conducive to the “American Dream” too entrenched?
I really enjoyed reading your article! The American Dream is a very interesting idea to me because what truly constitutes it? Everyone has an idea of the American Dream, but most would agree that having a loving family is a major part of it. Giving that child the best chance to succeed by providing them with what they need (love, stability, support), but if someone knows that maybe they are not best suited to provided their would be child with a chance to achieve their American Dream, having options like birth control and abortion is a necessity.
I thought that this was a well-crafted article. It is interesting to see how views on the “American Dream” have changed with time. It was originally widely looked at by immigrants coming to America with a belief to achieve a stable income for their families that let their children have a better starting point in their lives than the parents did. However, over time the American dream has become widely criticized due to racial and ethnic barriers that have prevented certain demographics from having the same chance of achieving this dream as other white “Americans”. It was also interesting to see how you tied in the idea of abortion rights into families being able to achieve the “american dream”. I do agree that proper family planning is a crucial part of the ability to achieve a stable income, and I can see why it’s so valuable for families to have the option of abortion in order to plan for the future properly.
Your article was interesting to read, as it painted a picture of how the ideal American dream has changed for most people (women especially) since these technological revolutions. It has uniquely gave women more autonomy and with each new technological advancement, the ideal shifts more and more towards autonomous and equal decision making among men and women.
I thought this was a very persuasive reading that explicitly shows how the “American Dream” is something that able to become a consistent reality for individuals with the help of birth control practices. It shows that original ideal family dynamic is only able to maintain this way if they are able to have dictation on what happens to their bodies. This article was put together very well and effectively conveyed its message throughout about the famous “American Dream”.
As I was reading your article, I found it fascinating how the American dream has evolved for women, particularly in the wake of technological advancements. These innovations have provided women with more autonomy, and as each new development emerges, the ideal of equal decision-making between men and women becomes more achievable. It is interesting to see how technology has played a significant role in shaping cultural attitudes towards gender roles and expectations.