The Society for Biodemography and Social Biology (originally known as the American Eugenics Society) is an organization with strong roots in the American eugenics movement, which was once notable for its popularization and advocacy of eugenic principles and policies. However, over the course of the 20^th century the organization transitioned from focusing on the advocacy of eugenics to promoting and publishing research on population genetics, particularly though its academic journal, Biodemography and Social Biology.

History

American Eugenics Society

In 1912, during a meeting of the Second International Congress of Eugenics organized by Leonard Darwin, Irving Fisher, an academic from Yale, proposed the creation of an American Eugenics Society. He later established the society in 1926, along with other eugenics movement activists including Madison Grant, Harry H. Laughlin, Henry Crampton, and Henry F. Osborn. Later in 1928, the organization was established as a charitable organization in Norman, Oklahoma. ^{1 2}

Initially, the Society supported the work of aligned organizations, for instance, the Galton Society of New York City and the Race Betterment Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. In that vein, the society, in the 1920s and 1930s, held presentations at local state fairs, often including “Fitter Family contests” and displays of a flashing red light that would be used to highlight how many times per second able-bodied individuals were born relative to supposed “degenerates.” ³

During this initial period, the society also become involved with various pro-abortion organizations and individuals. For instance, Margaret Sanger, who was a member of the Society, established the American Birth Control League (a predecessor organization to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America), which collaborated with the Society during the presidency of Henry F. Perkins. ⁴

Renaming and Change of Focus

Support for eugenics rapidly fell after World War II, owing to its close association with the Nazi regime in Germany, which justified its crimes against humanity on eugenic grounds. The American Eugenics Society gradually shifted its focus to publishing and promoting research in population genetics. To that end, in 1969, the society changed the name of its flagship publication, Eugenics Quarterly, to Social Biology. In 1972, the society itself changed its name to the Society for the Study of Social Biology. ⁵

As of 2022, the organization continues to publish its flagship journal, now named Biodemography and Social Biology ⁶ The organization files the IRS e-postcard, indicating it reports gross receipts of less than $50,000 in a given year. ⁷

Biodemography and Social Biology

In October 1928, the American Eugenics Society launched a monthly journal called Eugenics. However, later in 1930, the Galton Publishing Company took over the journal. But one year later in 1931, Galton abruptly closed and the journal ceased publication. In 1939, Eugenical News, a monthly publication of the Eugenics Research Association, was adopted by the Society, in effect reviving the project of its original Eugenics journal. Later in 1954, the Society launched Eugenics Quarterly, a more academic venture, focusing on scientific research into hereditary traits. ⁸

About a decade and a half later, in 1969, to accord with the organization’s changing focus, the organization renamed Eugenics Quarterly to Social Biology. By 2014, following a similar name change of the organization itself, the journal had become Biodemography and Social Biology. ^{9 10}

1. “SOCIETY OF BIODEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL BIOLOGY INC.” ProPublica. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131661611
2. Gur-Arie, Rachel. “American Eugenics Society (1926-1972)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. November 22, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2022.

   https://embryo.asu.edu/handle/10776/8241

3. Gur-Arie, Rachel. “American Eugenics Society (1926-1972)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. November 22, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2022.
4. Gur-Arie, Rachel. “American Eugenics Society (1926-1972)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. November 22, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2022.
5. Gur-Arie, Rachel. “American Eugenics Society (1926-1972)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. November 22, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2022.
6. “Aims and Scope.” Biodemography and Social Biology. Taylor & Francis. Accessed December 27, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/hsbi20.
7.  IRS Exempt Organization Search, Society for the Study of Social Biology (EIN 13-1661611). Queries conducted December 27, 2022.
8. Gur-Arie, Rachel. “American Eugenics Society (1926-1972)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. November 22, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2022.
9. Gur-Arie, Rachel. “American Eugenics Society (1926-1972)”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia. November 22, 2014. Accessed December 12, 2022.
10. Biodemography and Social Biology. Taylor and Francis Online. 2022. Accessed December 12, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hsbi20/67/1?nav=tocList