Full Citation
Title: Racialization and Reproduction: Asian Immigrants and California's Twentieth-Century Eugenic Sterilization Program
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2023
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ISSN:
DOI: 10.1093/sf/soad060
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Abstract: During the twentieth century, state health authorities in California recommended sterilization for over 20,000 individuals held in state institutions. Asian immigrants occupied a marginalized position in racial, gender, and class hierarchies in California at the height of its eugenic sterilization program. Scholars have documented the disproportionate sterilization of other racialized groups, but little research exists connecting the racist, gendered implementation of Asian immigration restriction to the racism and sexism inherent in eugenics. This study examines patterns of coercive sterilization in Asian immigrants in California, hypothesizing higher institutionalization and sterilization rates among Asian-born compared with other foreign-and US-born individuals. We used complete count census microdata from 1910 to 1940 and digitized sterilization recommendation forms from 1920 to 1945 to model relative institutionalization and sterilization rates of Asian-born, other foreign-born, and US-born populations, stratified by gender. Other foreign-born men and women had the highest institutionalization rates in all four census years. Sterilization rates were higher for Asian-born women compared with US-born [Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) = 2.00 (95% CI: 1.61, 2.48)] and other foreign-born women (p < 0.001) across the entire study period. Sterilization rates for Asian-born men were not significantly
Url: https://academic.oup.com/sf/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sf/soad060/7147029
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Kaniecki, Marie; Novak, Nicole L; Gao, Sarah; Lira, Natalie; Treviño, Toni Ann; O'connor, Kate; Stern, Alexandra Minna
Periodical (Full): Social Forces
Issue: 0
Volume: 0
Pages: 1-24
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Race and Ethnicity, Reproductive and Sexual Health
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