Suchergebnisse

This article relies on close readings of Jurassic Park (the book
and the film) and Gattaca (film) to argue that a great
deal of the opposition to
new genetic technologies expressed in contemporary popular culture is
grounded in a profound anti-feminism. Both of these science fiction
stories suggest that genetic manipulation is "unnatural," and call for
a return to a romanticized "natural" motherhood. In Jurassic Park, genetic science is figured as a threat to the white nuclear
family, producing "Third World" female dinosaurs whose reproduction cannot
be stopped, whose existence threatens white American children. Gattaca aligns the "unnaturalness" of genetically modified offspring
with homosexuality and communism, and calls for the return of democracy,
individual striving, and motherhood. Together, the article argues, these
two texts suggest some of the pitfalls for feminism in contemporary
discussions of reproductive technology and genetic determinism.