A riveting history about the little-known rivalry between Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett that profoundly shaped reproductive rights in America In the early days of the reproductive rights movement, two pioneering activists emerged: Margaret Sanger and Mary Dennett. Sanger would go on to found Planned Parenthood, while Dennett's name has largely faded from public awareness. Each held a radically different vision for what reproductive autonomy and birth control access should look like in America. Few are aware of the fierce personal and political rivalry that played out between Sanger and Dennett over decades--a battle that had a profound impact on the lives of American women. Stephanie Gorton's meticulously researched and vividly drawn new history, The Icon and the Idealist, reveals how and why these two women came to activism, the origins of the clash between them, and the ways in which their missteps and breakthroughs have reverberated across American society for generations. With deep archival scope and rigorous execution, The Icon and the Idealist weaves together a personal narrative of two fascinating women and the political history of a country arriving at one of the most necessary social inventions of the modern day. Refusing to shy away from the enmeshed struggles of race, class, and gender, Gorton has made a sweeping examination of every force that has come in the way of women's reproductive freedom. Brimming with insight and compelling portraits of women's struggles throughout the twentieth century, The Icon and the Idealist is a comprehensive history of a radical cultural movement.
Thoughts
Rivalry impeding concerted progress: "The lack of real communication between them shortchanged the movement more than their actual differences of opinion. Heavyweight activism benefits from a combination of incremental legal change and an ability to capture the public imagination (Sanger's style) as well as the dogged pursuit of fundamental, big-picture change (Dennett's)." Both approaches lacking intersectionality. Main themes regarding activism: not letting perfect be the enemy of good, recognizing that change happens incrementally, slowly. Seeking re-interpretation of existing laws/logic/systems rather than creating from scratch. Issues that overlap the personal and public realms of life - tricky, philosophical, even religious arguments. Actual sex education still not federally funded - just abstinence-only programs. "Build thou beyond thyself" - Sanger. Dennett on how birth control would transform family life: "The results, in much shorter a time than four or five generations, will be happier homes; greater mutual respect between husband and wife; honeymoons lasting two to three years before children arrive... That is what makes the difference between feeding and dining, being covered against the elements and being charmingly dressed, living in a cave and having a hospitable home." Not just survival, but joy.