The Transparent Womb: Gestational Labour, Reproductive Technologies, and the Politics of Visual Culture

My research starts from the position that pregnancy can be thought of as 'gestational labour' - that is, as a form of work. This labour is of vital social importance, and yet it tends to go unrecognised. The representation of biological procreation (both by and through reproductive technologies) plays a key role in this. Not only do these technologies allow us to see elements of the reproductive process anew, but they are themselves subject to representation. This has a profound effect upon public perceptions of pregnancy. My PhD will explore this in relation to three case studies: 1. IVF and egg freezing; 2. ultrasound and artificial wombs; 3. alternative feminist reproductive technologies. My research will explore how both visual images produced by reproductive technologies (such as ultrasound scans), and visual images of reproductive technologies (in, for example, the news media and advertising) influence our capacity to recognise pregnancy as work.