Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860–1940

This insightful book offers a new perspective on fertility trends in Britain from 1860 to 1940, emphasizing the roles of abstinence and birth spacing.

The book Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860–1940 delves into the significant decline in family size in Britain during the years 1860 to 1940. It challenges prevailing theories and introduces fresh insights regarding the role of sexual abstinence and the practice of spacing births. The author meticulously examines historical data to present an original interpretation of fertility trends, integrating perspectives from social sciences, demographic studies, feminist discourse, and labour history, alongside intellectual, social, and political contexts.

A critical aspect of Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860–1940 is its critique of the traditional understanding of class-differential fertility decline. The book reveals the limitations of conventional statistical approaches and offers an innovative analysis of the 1911 fertility census of England and Wales. Through this analysis, the author uncovers unexpected findings about birth control methods, emphasizing that couples often spaced their children from the onset of marriage and that sexual abstinence among married partners was more prevalent than previously acknowledged.

This work not only presents a unique viewpoint on the historical landscape of fertility in Britain but also raises essential questions about the intersection of history and social science. By providing a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing fertility changes, Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860–1940 contributes significantly to the discourse on family dynamics and reproductive practices in the context of British history.