Metaphors of the Infertile Body

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the role of metaphors for the infertile body in the context of assisted reproduction, using conceptual metaphor theory as a framework, and to evaluate the moral significance of these metaphors. This sub-study is part of a larger study examining the biosafety practices of new biotechnologies in Latvia. In the sub-study, special attention was paid to metaphors used by assisted reproductive technology users, egg donors and experts. It can be concluded that not only does the infertility experience influence the choice of metaphors, but the use of certain metaphors can also change the infertility experience. In this process the practice of infertility treatment and the meaning of the body are socially and culturally shaped. The main groups of metaphors for the infertile body discovered through interview analysis are: order/disorder, the body as a resource, the body as a container, the body as a project, and anthropomorphization of gametes.keywords assisted reproductive technology, embodiment, infertility, metaphor, reproductive ethics the new bioethics,

In-vitro metaphors: ART beneficiaries’ meaning-making about human embryos in the context of IVF in Portugal

“…one that fails to achieve pregnancy as a desirable biological and social state), as an emblem of the self (associated with a felt stigma due to not complying with social expectations), and as property over which one exerts control or that betrays the care invested in it by denying fertility ( Greil, 2002 ). Other metaphors are also deployed, presenting the infertile body as a resource, a container, a project, a disordered mechanism, a challenge to the natural order of things, or a social agent in itself, with self-determination and personality ( Mezinska and Mileiko, 2012 ).…”