°Human weeds, not fit to breed?°: African Caribbean women and reproductive disparities in Britain

Abstract

Race and reproductive politics have been intimately entwined in Britain over centuries of colonialism and imperialism. As a critical reading of the autobiography of formerly enslaved Mary Prince testifies, African Caribbean women entered Britain against an established backdrop of racialised mythologies of errant black female sexuality and hyperfertility. Such beliefs prevail, producing disparities in black women°s reproductive choices, and informing and shaping public policy. Despite the evidence of racialised disparities in their reproductive choices, health and care, there is a paucity of scholarship addressing African Caribbean women°s reproductive experiences. Appreciating the historical function of race is vital to understanding contemporary reproductive experiences of black women, whose bodies continue to be critical sites in the exercise of state power. This position paper outlines some disparities in African Caribbean women°s reproductive experiences in relation to contraception, abortion and infertility in contemporary UK, and calls for greater research into their reproductive experiences, in order to better understand and meet their reproductive needs.