The Politics of Reproduction

The Troubling Case of Nadya Suleman and Assisted Reproductive Technology

Bibliographic Data

ID2280889
AuthorsDána-Ain Davis (0000-0001-7305-709X, Queens College, CUNY, corresponding author), Dána‐ain Davis
Year2009
Volume17
Issue2
Pages105-116
Publication date2009-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransforming Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1051-0559 • E-ISSN: 1548-7466
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1111/j.1548-7466.2009.01061.x
OpenAlexW2126808783
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited9

On January 26, 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth to the nation's second set of octuplets. Over the course of 30 days Ms. Suleman became the subject of outrage and outrageous representations over her choice to have in vitro fertilization since she already had six children. Embedded in Suleman's public construction and representations are subtle transcripts of race, class, and reproduction. This article examines these intersections as they relate to stratified reproduction, neoliberal reification of choice in the reproductive marketplace and the silence of mainstream reproductive rights groups in challenging the discourse surrounding Suleman. This discourse is similar to that which has historically been used to justify restricting the reproductive trajectories of women of color, poor and low-income women

Abortion · Aesthetics · Art · Biology · Mainstream · Political science · Politics · Reification (Marxism · Reproduction · Reproductive health · Reproductive justice · Reproductive rights · Reproductive technology · Silence · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Law · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Ecology

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