TY - JOUR

T1 - Fertility treatment and organizational discourses of the non-reproductive female body

AU - Cervi, L.

AU - Brewis, J.

N1 - This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Cervi, L., & Brewis, J. (2021). Fertility treatment and organizational discourses of the non-reproductive female body. Gender, Work & Organization, 1– 20. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12733 which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12733 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.

PY - 2022/1/31

Y1 - 2022/1/31

N2 - This paper contributes to debates on the intersections between organizations, the body, and reproduction by exploring how the non-reproductive female body is discursively (re)constructed by organizations which provide fertility treatment, such as private clinics and fertility magazines. Organization studies has neglected the non-reproductive body, despite a fair amount of research on its reproductive counterpart, especially pregnant and maternal bodies. Equally, these discussions privilege the employment relationship – for example, how women are enjoined to manage their bodies at work – whereas we concentrate on the marketplace, or the field of fertility treatment, and the organizations therein. These organizations, while focused on reproducing bodies, also influence, compound, and challenge notions of the bodies they are involved with. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of texts produced by UK fertility organizations, we present three discourses of the non-reproductive female body that (re)generate subject positions where the absence of reproduction is a medical condition, an emotionally distressing experience, and something that needs to be cared for. Our argument suggests how the texts can operate as a form of Foucauldian governmental biopower, emphasizing how they hail the infertile female subject.  

AB - This paper contributes to debates on the intersections between organizations, the body, and reproduction by exploring how the non-reproductive female body is discursively (re)constructed by organizations which provide fertility treatment, such as private clinics and fertility magazines. Organization studies has neglected the non-reproductive body, despite a fair amount of research on its reproductive counterpart, especially pregnant and maternal bodies. Equally, these discussions privilege the employment relationship – for example, how women are enjoined to manage their bodies at work – whereas we concentrate on the marketplace, or the field of fertility treatment, and the organizations therein. These organizations, while focused on reproducing bodies, also influence, compound, and challenge notions of the bodies they are involved with. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis of texts produced by UK fertility organizations, we present three discourses of the non-reproductive female body that (re)generate subject positions where the absence of reproduction is a medical condition, an emotionally distressing experience, and something that needs to be cared for. Our argument suggests how the texts can operate as a form of Foucauldian governmental biopower, emphasizing how they hail the infertile female subject.  

KW - biopower

KW - body

KW - Critical Discourse Analysis

KW - fertility treatment

KW - Foucault

KW - hailing

KW - infertility

KW - organizations

KW - reproduction

U2 - 10.1111/gwao.12733

DO - 10.1111/gwao.12733

M3 - Journal article

VL - 29

SP - 8

EP - 27

JO - Gender, Work and Organization

JF - Gender, Work and Organization

SN - 0968-6673

IS - 1

ER -