Mrs. Tamor and her six children. Helen and her son, a child of “tender years.” Margaret Garner, an “affectionate mother” […]
Can every baby be a Gerber Baby? A century of American baby contests and eugenics
In 2018, Gerber made headlines for selecting baby Lucas as the winner of its Spokesbaby Contest, making Lucas the first […]
BMI, Race, and Bodies: How Race Science Reemerges in the Unlikeliest of Places
The connection between Black female bodies and ill health, fatness, and inferiority marks the historical record on race and health. […]
Bottled Racism: A Review of Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice by Andrea Freeman
In recent years, the black maternal and fetal health crisis has been front page news, and for good reason. Black […]
Blinded by the White: Race and the Exceptionalizing of Ted Bundy
Take care of yourself, young man. And I — I say that to you sincerely. Take care of yourself. It’s […]
Who Was the Original “Welfare Queen?”: Review of Josh Levin’s The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth
How do you tell a story about a real-life, embodied individual who inspired a stereotype, without reducing her life to […]
If You See Something, Say Something: Imperial Origins of White Women’s Modern Racial Profiling
In 2018, confrontations between white women and people of color in the United States have become viral news bytes emblematic […]
“Hateful, Un-American Ideas!” Gender, Race, and Politics in Cold War Romance Comic Books
In the October 1949 issue of the romance comic Hollywood Confessions, the protagonist of the story “Too Ugly to Love” […]
The Privilege of Despair
A preternatural calm settled over me on Saturday afternoon as I heard the news of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the […]
![Illustration shows Uncle Sam as the "Pied Piper" playing a pipe labeled "Lax Immigration Laws" and leading a horde of rats labeled "Jail Bird, Murderer, Thief, Criminal, Crook, Kidnapper, Incendiary, Assassin, Convict, Bandit, Fire Brand, White Slaver, [and] Degenerate", and some carry signs that read "Black Hand" showing a black handprint. In the background, rulers from "France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Hungary/Austria, Turkey, [and] Greece", along with citizens of these countries, are cheering the fleeing rats.](https://i0.wp.com/nursingclio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/anti-immigration-1909-political-cartoon_loc.jpg?fit=640%2C378&ssl=1)
From Mooktie to Juan: The Eugenic Origins of the “Defective Immigrant”
On a Monday in November 1905, a “little deaf and dumb … 10-year old Eurasian girl” called Mooktie Wood arrived […]
