Reproductive Governance and Bodily Materiality: Flesh, Technologies, and Knowledge

Reproductive Governance and Bodily Materiality explores the growing importance of medical professionals and lay practices in human reproduction, focusing on issues such as abortion, sterilization, natural childbirth, breastfeeding, surrogacy, pregnancy loss, IVF, disability, and parenting. It examines how reproductive behaviors are shaped and controlled by social, cultural, and political factors, and how these features are embodied through practices, care, rituals, and gestures.

Format: Hardback
Length: 252 pages
Publication date: 07 April 2022
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

Reproductive Governance and Bodily Materiality delves into the increasing significance and influence of medical professionals and lay practices in the realm of human reproduction, intricately intertwined with political and economic processes across diverse countries. Throughout the collection, the authors examine a range of reproductive issues, including abortion, sterilization, natural childbirth, breastfeeding, surrogacy, pregnancy loss, IVF, disability, and parenting. They explore the mechanisms that shape and control reproductive behaviors, while also focusing on the socially and culturally constructed bodies' materiality. The chapters analyze how reproductive governances are deeply embedded within various social aspects, such as gender, industry, and religion, occupying complex political domains. They demonstrate how these features are embodied through practices, care, rituals, and gestures. Instead of assuming corporeal materiality as a stable and predetermined entity, this collection reveals how different bodies are defined and shaped by local biologies, institutional practices, and reproductive subjects both within and outside the Euro-American space.

This book is a vital resource for researchers in social, cultural, and medical anthropology, sociology, and education. It sheds light on the complex dynamics that govern reproductive practices and offers insights into the diverse ways in which bodies are constructed and experienced. By examining the intersections of medicine, politics, and culture, Reproductive Governance and Bodily Materiality contributes to our understanding of the evolving landscape of human reproduction and its impact on individuals, communities, and societies.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800714397