Buying into Reproductive Modernity: Tracing the Transnational History of Two Contraceptives in Britain and China.

This article examines the parallel histories of two early twentieth-century contraceptive pessaries: Britain's 'Wife's Friend' and China's 'Lady's Friend'. Both products, despite limited scientific efficacy, achieved commercial success through localized marketing strategies that reflected their distinct social and cultural contexts. 'Wife's Friend', developed by British chemist Walter J. Rendell, targeted primarily middle-class British women and was promoted using the language of Western science, while 'Lady's Friend', produced by the Chinese Hawley & Hazel Chemical Company, combined Western biomedical claims with traditional Chinese medicine concepts to appeal to wealthier Chinese consumers. The study highlights the porous boundaries between Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine during this period and underscores how transnational commercialisation and modernity shaped perceptions of health and contraception in both Britain and China.