Abstract

FERNANDEZ JIMENO, Natalia. Challenging The Institution Of Motherhood: Subversive Re-Appropriation Of Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART). Rev. iberoam. cienc. tecnol. soc. [online]. 2016, vol.11, n.31, pp.119-146. ISSN 1850-0013.

This paper analyzes the role of Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART) in the configuration of motherhoods subversive to the patriarchal systems and the institution of motherhood. The aim of this paper is to focus on the different strategies and obstacles women have to overcome when they intend to raise a single-mother family or with a lesbian partner, and to analyze to what extent the use of ART is subversive, or, on the contrary, reinforces the institution of motherhood and the patriarchal power. For that purpose, we have revised bibliography on the theme, and, through semi-structured interviews, have gathered a series of testimonies from women who have used ART. Thus, it has been possible to perceive the dialectical tension between gender scripts and oppressive patriarchal values as a constituent part of these techniques; and also women’s agency to create vivid motherhoods and new models capable of subverting the institution of motherhood.

Keywords : Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART); Agency; Motherhoods; Feminism.