Assisted Reproduction Across Borders: Feminist Perspectives on Normalizations, Disruptions and Transmissions

Today, it often seems as though Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) have reached a stage of normalization, at least in some countries and among certain social groups. Apparently some practices – for example in vitro fertilization (IVF) – have become standard worldwide. The contributors to Assisted Reproduction Across Borders argue against normalization as an uncontested overall trend.

This volume reflects on the state of the art of ARTs. From feminist perspectives, the contributors focus on contemporary political debates triggered by ARTs. They examine the varying ways in which ARTs are interpreted and practised in different contexts, depending on religious, moral and political approaches. Assisted Reproduction Across Borders embeds feminist analysis of ARTs across a wide variety of countries and cultural contexts, discussing controversial practices such as surrogacy from the perspective of the global South as well as the global North as well as inequalities in terms of access to IVF.

This volume will appeal to scholars and students of anthropology, ethnography, philosophy, political science, history, sociology, film studies, media studies, literature, art history, area studies, and interdisciplinary areas such as gender studies, cultural studies, and postcolonial studies.

Merete Lie is Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture and leader of the Centre for Gender Research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway.

Nina Lykke is Professor of Gender Studies at Linköping University, Sweden, co-director of GEXcel International Collegium for Advanced Transdisciplinary Gender Studies, and director of InterGender International Research School, Sweden.