One of the main outcomes of in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) is the ability to reprogramme somatic (skin or blood) cells or embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into induced pluripotent stem cells; these could then yield any cell in the human body, including sperm and the egg. This potential shift in the (re)production of gametes is at the centre of this article. It is theoretically anchored in Marxist feminist historical materialism and in the transformations in labour – our relationships with machines and cooperation – and explores what it means for reproductive class struggle when the means of production change. To ground this exploration, I turn to the ‘speculative futures’ of gamete abundance that have emerged from contemporary bioethical and media narratives around IVG, to think through how the potential move from gametes to soma might alter the conditions of work for global egg cell donors. I argue that the current dominant narratives of IVG, entangled with accelerationist techno-productivist futures, enliven old and new debates on gender, labour and liberation under capitalism. Ultimately, this article makes the case that the speculative potential of IVG, with its unique ability to ignite our imagination, opens up new ways of thinking about feminist reproductive politics across bodies, biologies and more-than-gendered lines.
Laura Teerijoki (Tue,) studied this question.