THIS IS REVOLUTION＞podcast Ep. 196: Birth Control in Contemporary China and the History of the One Child Policy /w Sara Mellors Rodriguez

In 1982 China’s population crossed the one-billion-mark, only three years after the promulgation of its famous, or in some quarters infamous, “One Child Policy”, a policy that was only abolished in 2015. That China’s ruling communist party might be concerned with questions of overpopulation in the world’s most populous country seems to make intuitive sense. However, such a perspective is perhaps over simplistic as it obscures the complex history of birth control in modern China.  For instance, upon assuming control of China in 1949, the initial stance of the Communist Party was one that favored high fertility rates. What factors have shaped both the attitudes of the Chinese state and Chinese society towards the issue of birth control? How have policies and attitudes change regarding this issue since the Communist Party assumed power? And what have been the implications for gender relations in the world’s most populous nation? We ask these questions and more, This is Revolution. About Sara: Sarah Mellors Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of East Asian History at Missouri State University. Her forthcoming book (Cambridge University Press, 2022) examines birth control and abortion in China from the early twentieth century to the present.   Thank you, guys, again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and every one of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined, BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron-only programming, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!   Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents   Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (especially YouTube!)   THANKS Y'ALL   YouTube: www.youtube.com/thisisrevolutionpodcast   Twitch: www.twitch.tv/thisisrevolutionpodcast www.twitch.tv/leftflankvets   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/   Twitter: @TIRShowOakland Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland   The Dispatch on Zero Books (video essay series): https://youtu.be/nSTpCvIoRgw   Pascal Robert's Black Agenda Report: https://www.blackagendareport.com/author/PascalRobert   Get THIS IS REVOLUTION Merch here: www.thisisrevolutionpodcast.com   Get the music from the show here: https://bitterlakeoakland.bandcamp.com/album/coronavirus-sessions