Dissertation
Speculative Sexualities and Futuristic Families: Representations of Reproduction and Kinship in Science Fiction
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2017
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/111559
Abstract
Women have traditionally been associated with reproduction through images that connect their bodies to nature which creates an essentialized, biological definition of what it means to be “female.” Images of motherhood and childbirth continue to be idealized in spite of the very real physical and emotional costs of reproduction, and the labor of childrearing is often divided unequally between men and women. In science fiction, representations of reproduction have tended to rely on depictions of artificial reproduction as “unnatural” and reinforced the threat of developing technologies through images of monstrous mothers and horrific births. However, these essentialized and negative depictions of reproduction fail to acknowledge the potential that developing reproductive technologies could hold to free the female body from biological determinism and create equality in dividing the work of parenthood. I argue that by moving away from traditional depictions of monstrous mothers and horrific births, images of nonnormative reproduction in science fiction can help to redefine the concepts of woman and mother, man and father, and further challenge the limiting ways in which gender and reproduction have been defined by the physical body. By looking at how reproduction has traditionally been portrayed in science fiction and contrasting those images with contemporary narratives of reproductive technologies such as cloning and male pregnancy, I argue that these fictional texts demonstrate a shift in cultural perception of developing technologies and allow readers and viewers to consider the real-world implications of pursuing artificial reproduction. The need for such examinations becomes critical for both men and women as reproductive rights continue to be challenged, as fictional technologies become lived realities, and as we are forced to consider the cultural and ethical implications for ourselves and our future progeny.
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Details
- Title
- Speculative Sexualities and Futuristic Families: Representations of Reproduction and Kinship in Science Fiction
- Creators
- Amber Lea Strother
- Contributors
- Carol Siegel (Advisor)T.V. Reed (Committee Member)Jon Hegglund (Committee Member)Renny Christopher (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- English, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 199
- Identifiers
- 99900581517101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation