Genetiska fantasier. Feministisk blick på populär vetenskap

Abstract

The aim of this article is to try to map out the potentials and genealogies of cyborg feminsm as a deconstructive tool when analyzing the spectacle of genes and genetics in populär science media. Cyborg feminism adds foremost a double vision to the analysis of genetic representations in the cultural imaginary (our fantasy images and discursive forms that we articulate in order to identify and mirror ourselves and our culture). The material is compared and thematidy analyzed and consists of artides from the Swedish magazine Forskning & Framsteg, the North European magazine Illustrerad Vetenskap and the British and "global" internet site- Gene Stories on BBCi. The notion of the cyborg (as a material-semiotic entity, a being of both fact and fiction, a thing of both the natural, organic world and the cultural imaginary) is used on the studied notion of genes. Genes are material-semiotic entities too, and this study focuseson the meaningand image producingqualities of genetic storytelling in populär science. The author wants to challange the contemporary ideas of genes from a feminist perspective.