Reproductive Imaginations: Stories of Egg and Sperm

摘要

The authors analyse how human reproduction is narrated in contemporary Norway, both in public settings and by individual women and men. We ask who and what is ascribed agency in these reproductive narratives and explore the different ways in which egg and sperm cells emerge as entities occupying centre stage in contemporary stories of conception—whereas the actual gendered persons are seldom mentioned. Stories of reproduction are “the bottom line”, so to speak, of perceptions of gender and gender difference. We discuss how gender is intricately and inadvertently implied in stories where egg and sperm cells take centre stage; on the one hand the gametes imply the meaning of women and men, but, on the other, this displacement liberates cultural meaning-making processes. In this text, we explore how gender is portrayed in contemporary versions of reproduction when it is generally depicted as a fusion of egg and sperm cells.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2011.618463