Repression and incitement: A critical demographic, feminist, and transnational analysis of birth control in Estonia, 1920-1939

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the discussions of birth control and contraception in mainstream Estonian periodicals and books, published in the interwar Estonian Republic, 1920-1939. This study shows that, although fertility rates were low in Estonia, the discussion of birth control methods was very limited in mainstream texts. Moreover, there were no visible organizations, centers, clinics, or individuals that consistently educated the public about birth control or advocated for greater access to contraceptives. A number of translated books were published, however, that provided pertinent advice and linked Estonia to the transnational social field of birth control. The main social forces that repressed Estonians' ability to engage more openly with issues of birth control were the ideology of respectability, the nationalist fear of depopulation, and particular understandings of femininity, masculinity, and sexuality.