Kirsten Leng

UMass Associate Professor Kirsten Leng
Associate Professor
Department of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies | College of Humanities and Fine Arts
W417 South College

Project Title: Breaking the Silence: Feminism, Miscarriage, and Child Loss in the 20th and 21st Century

Miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss are, sadly, common occurrences—yet rarely discussed or acknowledged openly. Only recently has the long-standing public silence been troubled, thanks to activist groups agitating for recognition of their losses and reforms to medical practices; doulas and midwives attending to the full spectrum of reproductive outcomes; public figures and private citizens sharing their experiences of pregnancy loss; and feminist scholars approaching these subjects as matters of racial, reproductive, and environmental justice. This project explores developments that took shape during the later 20th and early 21st century that together have helped create a more open climate of discussion around early pregnancy and perinatal loss, as well as better practices in the treatment of people and families going through these experiences.

Selected Publication:

  • Kirsten Leng, Sexual Politics and Feminist Science: Women Sexologists in Germany, 1900-1933 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018)

  • Other works at www.kirstenleng.net and @KirstenLeng on Twitter