Making Bodies, Persons and Families: Normalising Reproductive Technologies in Russia, Switzerland and Germany

Since Louise Brown was born in 1978, artificial fertilisation has become widely practiced. The far-reaching social implications of these procedures are an understudied phenomenon in Switzerland and Russia. Public acceptance of in vitro fertilisation is increasing, but to have a child with this technology, and without sex, is still often imbued with secrecy and taboos. The book sheds light on the cultural and social production of gendered bodies, persons and families in Russia, Switzerland and Germany in the context of reproductive technologies, with a special focus on normalisation practices. Willemijn de Jong, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zurich Olga Tkach, Centre for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg