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To be or not to be? | Moral guardians

To be or not to be?

	Midgets on parade Fortean Picture Library

Doctors were frequent visitors to freak shows, where they looked at the deformities as medical specimens. Many corpses were sold to hospitals for medical research after the artistes had died.

By the end of the 19th century, as Darwin's theory of evolution began to become accepted and the science of genetics was gaining currency, some people began to propose schemes for breeding 'irregularities' out of society. This was known as 'eugenics' (Greek for 'good genes'), and the eugenicists believed that certain groups in the population were inferior and responsible for society's problems.

Marie Stopes' revolutionary family planning crusade in the early part of the 20th century was just as driven by her belief in minimising procreation amongst the 'feckless poor' as her dedication to women's liberation. Associates even reported that she discouraged her son from wearing glasses in public, not wanting him to exhibit any sign of imperfection. She was not alone in her disdain for supposed physical aberration.

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