The State in the Bedroom

The State in the Bedroom

Abortion
Women
Reproductive rights
Birth control
Contraceptives

To coincide with the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians and promote UTL special collections, Robarts Reference librarians Patricia Bellamy, Jesse Carliner, Nicholas Worby, and iSchool practicum student Tina Sabourin have curated an exhibit titled The State in the Bedroom: The Evolution of Reproductive Rights in Canada. This exhibit traces the legislative history of reproductive rights in Canada from 1892 to the end of the 20th century. The story of changing laws and mores relating to contraception, abortion, sexual and reproductive health education, and involuntary sterilization is told from a uniquely Canadian perspective using government reports, transcripts of parliamentary debates, hearings, bills and statutes, zines, posters and pamphlets, and documentary film, all from the University of Toronto Libraries’ collections. Although intended to showcase government information from the Government Publications collection in Robarts Library, other libraries generously loaned materials also featured in the exhibition, including

Robarts Library stacks
Women’s Education Resource Collection (WERC), OISE Library
Media Commons, Robarts Library, 3rd floor
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
Bora Laskin Law Library
University of Toronto at Scarborough Library

For further information on the exhibit please consult the Reproductive Rights in Canada research guide* or visit Reference and Research Services on the 4th floor of Robarts Library.

* http://guides.library.utoronto.ca/reproductiverights