I hadn't noticed before, or not in the same way as i noticed tonight, the way they explain "mental age" and how it came about, without really highlighting how messed up it is. They move very swiftly to speaking about "moron" being invented for "morally inferior" - not having developed "adult morals"
which tbh is kind of making me want to find the Kallikak Family to understand what was expected by "adult morals". obv by 1918 it meant (very decidedly) upper-middle class WASP knowledge and beliefs, but what was on those original tests given to the institution's inmates.
mm-hmm. by the Ann Cooper Hewitt case, the eugenics has changed from "fit to pass on her genes" to "fit to be a parent". quote from an interview describing the shift: forget about heredity, these people will be unable to care for their children, so best to not let them have any.