Лабиринти на желанието: Природа, технологии и джендър в дискурса за асистираната репродукция
Labyrinths of Desire: Nature, Technology and Gender in the Discourses of Assisted Reproduction

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present the subjectivities of women under-going procedures of assisted reproduction (ART), and the new forms of individuation and autonomy those entail. The debates about reproductive autonomy for women using in vitro reproductive procedures revolve around the question to what extend ARTs empower and further propel women’s actions and desires to become mothers, and on the other hand to what extent these technologies create barriers and limitations to their reproductive rights and choices. The empirical study we present is based on women’s narratives posted on fertility clinic blogs and internet discussion forums. We explore the themes of: constructing an agentic identity through knowledge, sensitivity to and control of the body and the procedures, relational and shared identities, an agentic self through persistence. The women’s voices which we heard and analyzed confirm the ambivalence of their experiences: on the one hand empowerment and hopefulness through ARTs which lead to the desired child; on the other hand – becoming more dependent on the medicalizing technologies.

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