In this Book

summary
Thirty-five years after its initial success as a form of technologically assisted human reproduction, and five million miracle babies later, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a routine procedure worldwide. In Biological Relatives, Sarah Franklin explores how the normalization of IVF has changed how both technology and biology are understood. Drawing on anthropology, feminist theory, and science studies, Franklin charts the evolution of IVF from an experimental research technique into a global technological platform used for a wide variety of applications, including genetic diagnosis, livestock breeding, cloning, and stem cell research. She contends that despite its ubiquity, IVF remains a highly paradoxical technology that confirms the relative and contingent nature of biology while creating new biological relatives. Using IVF as a lens, Franklin presents a bold and lucid thesis linking technologies of gender and sex to reproductive biomedicine, contemporary bioinnovation, and the future of kinship.

Table of Contents

Download PDF Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication
  2. pp. i-vi
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. ix-x
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Introduction: Relatively Biological
  2. pp. 1-30
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 1. Miracle Babies
  2. pp. 31-67
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 2. Living Tools
  2. pp. 68-101
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 3. Embryo Pioneers
  2. pp. 102-149
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 4. Reproductive Technologies
  2. pp. 150-184
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 5. Living IVF
  2. pp. 185-220
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 6. IVF Live
  2. pp. 221-257
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 7. Frontier Culture
  2. pp. 258-296
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. 8. After IVF
  2. pp. 297-310
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Afterword
  2. pp. 311-312
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 313-332
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. References
  2. pp. 333-350
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 351-364
  3. open access
    • PDF icon Download
Back To Top