Many of these blog posts are going to be short and without citations or authors, but I will go back and edit when I have more time in the summer. These are just thoughts that need to be written down and explored for my mind's sake.
One of the feminist problems that I have been struggling with lately is technology and birth. Many feminist authors have said that being able to have "test tube babies" is a step forward for feminism. If people can have children without women actually being impregnated, what is the difference between men and women? If we are striving for equality in ALL ways between men and women, this seems promising. This sci-fi scenario sounds a lot like "A Manifesto for Cyborgs" by Donna Haraway. As Haraway says, perhaps being a "cyborg" can be a space where dualisms do not exist. If we use "test tube babies" as an example of a hypothetical cyborg, we can see where this would be freeing for gender. On the other hand, "test tube babies" means we can manipulate the "body" (when the fetus grows one) and the mind of the fetus and baby. This may result in an easier way for eugenics to arise. Perfection of the body is incredibly subjective; but we can gather that in a capitalist society, this body would be meant for production or for beauty. Eventually, we could manipulate the body so much to determine skin color and other characteristics. There may only be one race, gender, and all able-bodied people. If the body was meant for production, would there even be a need for women anymore, especially since they are not needed for reproduction? Admittedly, there would be no sexism, racism, or ableism with this new world of people. To me, this type of eugenics is frightening and leaves little space for humans to be humans. There is no clear answer.
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