Introduction: Eugenics and feminism during the early 1900s

Abstract Within cultural memory, concepts such as racial purity, idealized bodies, genetic superiority, and selective breeding are deeply associated with the atrocities committed by the Nazis. However, notions of “improving” humanity were far more widespread, permeating scientific discourses, health guides, political debates, social institutions, cultural practices, and literary works during the late‐nineteenth and early‐twentieth centuries. The extensive spread of these ideas, collectively referred to as eugenics, was driven by growing concerns about the future of humanity in rapidly industrializing societies. Unlike the rigid framework of eugenics in Nazi Germany, early eugenic thought was highly malleable. It manifested in diverse forms, garnered support from both ends of the political spectrum, and reflected a wide range of ideological perspectives across different regions. This special issue explores the varied expressions of eugenic ideas during the turn of the twentieth century, with a particular focus on often‐overlooked supporters and critics of eugenics.