Myth in the Lives of Leaders of Social Movements: The Case of the Family Planning Movement

The biography of heroic figures depends on the nature of the heroic role as well as on actual life events; even biographies of current heroes and heroines are subject to this process. A typology of life stories according to content and purpose delineates the place of myth, biography and life course analysis. The life stories of the founding figures of the family planning movement are examined to show the modeling of the main life events of the biographies into the heroic model.