Do you see eugenic ideology as it played out in Only the Beautiful in our world today? In what ways?

Do you see eugenic ideology as it played out in Only the Beautiful in our world today? In what ways?

Of course. We have a former president and candidate for president who thinks immigrants are "poisoning the blood of America." Where will that lead if we say nothing and do nothing. Fifty percent of Americans are willing to vote for him in the next election. White Supremicists and the Ku Klux Klan live on. In addition, many women believe in having their fetus tested for disease and willing to have an abortion in the baby in their womb if it is not perfect. What is that if not eugenic philosophy?

The stage is set for the eugenic ideology in Only the Beautiful to occur today. As noted by the first post to this question, there are people and groups like the Klu Klux Klan who want their version of a genetically advantaged group with desirable traits of intelligence, good health, and beauty. There were a number of articles between 2020 and 2022 about a doctor in Georgia who performed a high number of “non consensual hysterectomies” on women housed in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Center. Like some of the WWII German doctors, this doctor was not board certified in OB-GYN. This issue came to light only because of a whistleblower at the ICE center.
It is a potentially slippery slope between the public eugenics of WWII and the private eugenics that may occur in the future with reproductive engineering that allows the modification of certain characteristics such as particular hair and eye color. (This is not in reference to babies at risk of being born with severe birth defects that result in death upon their birth.)

I agree with the responses above and am personally terrified about the future of our country. I believe the horrific past acts of the Nazis and other radical forces may repeat if not stopped.

It appears that a large segment of the human species seems to believe that many of our varieties and differences are on a continuum from worst to best and that only their definition of “best” should prevail. This can be seen in skin color, country of origin, language, education level, and socio-economic status to name a few. History truly does repeat itself and many of us just don’t seem to want it any other way.

Bravo to LindaMonaco. I could not have said it better. Along with many other citizens, I am terrified for our democracy. At this time almost 50% of US voters are willing to reelect our former president who is constantly telling his followers that immigrants are poisoning America. Isn't that a form of Eugenics?History does have a habit of repeating itself, let's not let that happen!

I believe Jill has said it best...eugenics is definitely very much alive and still endorsed by many prople.

Unfortunately, I think that Eugenic thinking is creeping into our society with the advent of genetic engineering, the rhetoric of some public figures, and the rising strength of organizations like the KKK that define desirable traits and attributes.
This book shows the ill effects of Eugenics. I only hope that it is not resurrected in our country (or any other country).

Sadly, eugenic practices have occurred in just about all of the major civilizations. The ancient Egyptians married brothers to sisters in order to keep the bloodlines pure, as did many royal families from across the globe.
Though the Chinese claim that limiting children per couple is for population control, it could also be perceived as a form of eugenics. In the Middle East, marrying someone from a different Muslim group than one's own can be grounds for death. Many of these examples also involve political and/ or religious reasons, but it could be argued as a race/ cultural/ ethnicity restriction, also. Humans are fallible, so are subject to all forms of evil.

Lets not get gene editing, racially motivated superioity and population control all mixed up..
We live in a time of more technical knowledge and should use it wisely...unfortunately we still have ignorance and fear.

Yes, definitely, in many ways! When I wrote the below in my review, I was thinking about the recent political battles over abortion, LGBTQ rights, book bans, Gaza, the war in Ukraine, etc. which to me, all stem from similar ideology -- fear of people / things / ideas, etc. that are different or unfamiliar. That's one of the things that made reading this book so difficult for me: the parallels with our current world.

**Excerpt from review:

Reading about this history, I could not help but think about all the terrible decisions being made in our country in recent years that attempt to take away our right to choose what is best for ourselves. As Rosie and Helen both ask at various points in the story: Why do those in a position of strength get to decide what the best looks like? Why is it that only the strong get to define what weakness is? What gives those in power the right to decide who is worthy to be a mother or a father and who is not? Who gets to decide that living with a disability means that life is not worth living?

Eugenic ideology, in its various forms, still exists in some corners of society today, though it's generally not as overt or institutionalized as it was in the past. It is currently manifested in genetic testing and selection, debates over abortion, socioeconomic disparities in healthcare and access to reproductive services, and policies related to immigration and population control.

I agree with everything so eloquently said by the comments above. Anytime there is an inequality there is room for discrimination and subjugation. A woman's right to have agency over her own body has been taken away, other rights can be chipped away as well.

Yes, these are awful times that we are living in. I fear that history can repeat itself. While it might not be legal anymore, that doesn't make it go away completely.

I just had the thought that this was mentioned during the height of COVID. Doctors might pick to use a ventilator on a young person rather than a person with a disability or older person if they had to choose. Isn't that a form of eugenics? I know many parents of children with disabilities were terrified during this time.