FOR THE SAKE OF THE RACE - EUGENE DISCOURSES OF FEEBLEMINDEDNESS AND MOTHERHOOD IN THE SOUTH-AFRICAN MEDICAL RECORD, 1903-1926

This paper examines the eugenic beliefs of members of the English-spea king medical profession during the first three decades of this century . It is based on an analysis of two dominant eugenic discourses, those of 'feeblemindedness' and motherhood, uncovered in South Africa's fir st medical journal, The South African Medical Record, published from 1 903 to 1926. Interrogating these discourses serves as an entry point i nto past processes of change and struggle which were underway in socia l relations in pre-apartheid modem South Africa. Medical eugenists sha red a number of fundamental assumptions: all demonstrated a concern wi th the health of the white 'race', and a fear of lower class whites (m ainly Afrikaners). They saw a necessary relationship between the healt h of the population, the role of women as 'mothers of the nation' and the health of the South African state. Consequently, they believed it was their duty to intervene in social relations, including both the pu blic realm of policy development and the private realm of sexuality an d reproduction.