Abstract
In any consideration of the reproductive behavior of minority groups, the first question that naturally comes to mind is what do we mean by a minority group. Since women increasingly are identifying themselves as a minority, one could state that all reproduction is by members of a minority group. Rather than being dismissed as facetious, this statement merits serious consideration. It seems to me quite evident that reproduction in this and other countries would be appreciably different if women enjoyed the same status as men, within as well as outside the context of the family. Indeed, as Bumpass (1973) in attempting to account for the recent decline in fertility has stated “…motherhood has been the last major vestige of ascribed status in a modern industrial society. A primary consequence of complete fertility control is to place motherhood more squarely in competition with other social roles.” Norman Ryder (1973) also has repeatedly made much the same point. Although I believe that women can be considered as a minority group within the context of the study of reproductive behavior, such an inclusive definition is not appropriate for this paper.
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© 1974 Plenum Press, New York
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Browning, H.L. (1974). The Reproductive Behavior of Minority Groups in the U.S.A.. In: Montagna, W., Sadler, W.A. (eds) Reproductive Behavior. Advances in Behavioral Biology, vol 11. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3069-1_14
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