What Every Girl Should Know

What Every Girl Should Know is an influential early 20th-century work by Margaret Sanger, first published in 1913 as a series of articles and later compiled into book form. Sanger, an American nurse, social reformer, and pioneering advocate for women’s reproductive rights, dedicated her life to promoting education about birth control and personal health at a time when such discussions were considered taboo or even illegal.
The book serves as one of the earliest public attempts to provide young women with honest, scientific information about their own bodies, sexuality, and health. Written in accessible and compassionate language, Sanger’s work aimed to counter the widespread ignorance and misinformation that surrounded topics of puberty, reproduction, and sexual hygiene. She believed that women — particularly young girls — deserved knowledge and the ability to make informed decisions about their bodies and futures.
In What Every Girl Should Know, Sanger addresses topics such as the anatomy of the reproductive system, the importance of personal cleanliness, and the emotional and physical changes that come with adolescence. She also touches on moral and social issues, emphasizing self-respect, independence, and education as key elements of a woman’s well-being. Despite its straightforward, educational tone, the book was considered controversial at the time, and some of its content led to censorship under the Comstock Laws, which restricted the distribution of materials on sexuality and contraception.
Sanger’s bold effort to bring truth and scientific understanding to young women helped spark a movement for greater openness in discussing sexual health and reproductive rights. What Every Girl Should Know stands today as a groundbreaking work that challenged social conventions, encouraged female empowerment, and paved the way for modern discussions about women’s health and sexual education.

Margaret Sanger was an influential American nurse, writer, and social reformer, best known as the founder of the birth control movement and a leading advocate for women’s reproductive rights. She was born on September 14, 1879, in Corning, New York, into a large working-class family. Witnessing her mother’s poor health from repeated pregnancies deeply shaped her conviction that women needed control over their own bodies.
In her early career as a nurse in New York’s impoverished neighborhoods, Sanger encountered the devastating effects of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Determined to change this, she began writing and speaking publicly about sexual health and contraception — topics considered taboo at the time. Her 1913 work, What Every Girl Should Know, offered frank, educational information about anatomy, sexuality, and hygiene, challenging censorship laws and promoting women’s right to knowledge.
In her middle years, Sanger founded America’s first birth control clinic in 1916, which later evolved into Planned Parenthood. She also played a key role in developing and legalizing contraceptive methods, including supporting research that led to the first birth control pill.
Margaret Sanger continued her advocacy throughout her life, inspiring global change in women’s health. She died on September 6, 1966, leaving a transformative legacy in reproductive freedom and public health.