Somatophilic Rationality for Reproductive Justice

Van der Waal, R; Van Nistelrooij, I; Fox, D; Newnham, E

Somatophilic Rationality for Reproductive Justice

Van der Waal, R Van Nistelrooij, I Fox, D Newnham, E

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Publisher:: Radboud University
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Technophany A Journal for Philosophy and Technology, pp. 1-32

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Van der Waal, R
dc.contributor.author	Van Nistelrooij, I
dc.contributor.author	Fox, D
dc.contributor.author	Newnham, E
dc.date.accessioned	2024-09-30T23:28:08Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-30T23:28:08Z
dc.identifier.citation	Technophany A Journal for Philosophy and Technology, pp. 1-32
dc.identifier.issn	2773-0875
dc.identifier.issn	2773-0875
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/181116
dc.description.abstract	<jats:p>A dominant strand of second wave feminism, represented in this essay by Firestone, is tied to a belief in technology to achieve reproductive justice, echoing Western somatophobic rationality. As such, it has difficulty formulating a critique of institutionalized reproductive technologies that have the capacity to perpetuate systemic racializing and misogynous violence, and envisioning a philosophy of reproductive justice where care for the body takes central stage. In this essay, we offer a perspective on achieving reproductive justice from an age-old position largely neglected by feminism: that of midwifery. Midwifery has always been wary of technology in the field of reproduction, having first-hand experience with its consequences in birth and pregnancy, and has developed a field of scholarship critiquing its misuse. Simultaneously, midwifery negotiates technology from a position that prioritizes experiential, embodied, and tacit knowledge. Midwifery’s epistemological standpoint is that of a somatophilic rationality of thinking with the body, guarding women and birthing people’s reproductive autonomy through a specific technē that uses both technology and nature. A certain tendency in midwifery is, however, developing more and more towards an anti-technological essentialism. This essay therefore brings into dialogue Firestone’s Marxist women’s liberation through the elimination of biological sex with the help of technology, and midwifery’s somatophilic epistemic standpoint, to develop a feminist rational engagement with nature that can achieve reproductive justice, on the basis of their shared biological materialism.</jats:p>
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Radboud University
dc.relation.ispartof	Technophany A Journal for Philosophy and Technology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.54195/technophany.13801
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Somatophilic Rationality for Reproductive Justice
dc.type	Journal Article
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2024-09-30T23:28:06Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

A dominant strand of second wave feminism, represented in this essay by Firestone, is tied to a belief in technology to achieve reproductive justice, echoing Western somatophobic rationality. As such, it has difficulty formulating a critique of institutionalized reproductive technologies that have the capacity to perpetuate systemic racializing and misogynous violence, and envisioning a philosophy of reproductive justice where care for the body takes central stage. In this essay, we offer a perspective on achieving reproductive justice from an age-old position largely neglected by feminism: that of midwifery. Midwifery has always been wary of technology in the field of reproduction, having first-hand experience with its consequences in birth and pregnancy, and has developed a field of scholarship critiquing its misuse. Simultaneously, midwifery negotiates technology from a position that prioritizes experiential, embodied, and tacit knowledge. Midwifery’s epistemological standpoint is that of a somatophilic rationality of thinking with the body, guarding women and birthing people’s reproductive autonomy through a specific technē that uses both technology and nature. A certain tendency in midwifery is, however, developing more and more towards an anti-technological essentialism. This essay therefore brings into dialogue Firestone’s Marxist women’s liberation through the elimination of biological sex with the help of technology, and midwifery’s somatophilic epistemic standpoint, to develop a feminist rational engagement with nature that can achieve reproductive justice, on the basis of their shared biological materialism.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/181116