The Perfect Game: A Century of Fertility “Stunts”

• In Event: Biology and Society Section Open Call Paper Session

Abstract

The pursuit of genetic perfection has been a topic of popular and scientific engagement since the early twentieth century. How does the gamification of reproduction draw on imperfect science to negotiate contemporary anxieties about changing demographics, fluctuating health metrics, and the future of humankind? In this analysis of fertility “games” over the past century, I draw on theories of competition, reproductive citizenship, and nationmaking to help make sense of how public competitions enable discourse on private processes. By linking these frameworks through the case of the fertility “stunt”, I argue that the throughlines of human productivity, national identity, and reproduction as competition provide useful insights into politically constructed population emergencies.

Author

• Margaret Ruth Eby, University of Pennsylvania