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The Other Machine: Discourse and Reproductive Technologies by Dion FarquharReview by: Charis Cussins

Isis, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Jun., 1998), pp. 370-371Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/237818 .

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BOOK

REVIEWS-ISIS,

9:

2

(1998)

OOK

REVIEWS-ISIS,

9:

2

(1998)

material

deprivation

and

the

hardeninggrip

of

the

suppressors.

The

Norwegian

merchant

navy,

however,

a

backbone

of

the national

economy,

went into Allied

service

and

suffered

great

losses.

During

the war most

Norwegians

had their

hands full

just

to

keep

life

going.

On the

ideo-

logical

level,

the Germansandtheir

Norwegian

sympathizersskillfully played

on some

prewar

sentiments

present

n

various

parts

of

Norwegian

society, hailing

a sort of romanticnationalism.

An

active resistance

emerged,

but

many

people

who were

morally

against

the German akeover

had few

practicaloptions. They

had to

adjust

o

the

situation

that had been forced

upon

them.

There were, however, also some Nazi fanatics,

as well as

political opportunists

who

exploited

German and

local Nazi contacts

to

pursue per-

sonal

means.

As time went

on,

the

ugly

face of the

Nazi

regime

gradually

came to

light.

Jews were ar-

rested and

deported.

Retaliations,

error

and tor-

ture,

execution of

hostages,

and

other cruelties

turned he tide of

public

sentiment.The Nazi ide-

ology

was

exposed

as

different rom what

many

Norwegians

had

thought

it to be.

The under-

ground

resistance movement

rapidly

gained

in

importance.MoreNorwegianscommitted hem-

selves to

political

and

military

resistance,

hough

many

had

done

so from the

very

first

day.

Sev-

eral

central

positions

in

the resistancemovement

were held

by physicians;

this book is

about

an

important

group

of these

doctors.

The

Norwegian physicians

in

general

were

among

those citizens

who

had

the task of

keep-

ing society runningduring

the

war.

Maintaining

public

health was

in

the interest of

the

Norwe-

gian population

tself,

of

course,

but it was also

in the

interestof the German

occupiers.

Most

of

the practicing physicians and the hospital doc-

tors therefore found

themselves

in an

increas-

ingly

difficult and delicate

situation,

where

loy-

alty

was

constantly

an issue.

Maynard

Cohen's interviewees were dedi-

cated

patriots

and

prominent

membersof the re-

sistance.

They

worked for the

liberationof

Nor-

way,

also

preparing

or

the

reconstructionand

reorganization

of the

country

after the

antici-

pated

Germandefeat.

(When

the

surrender

f the

Third Reich was broadcaston 7

May

1945,

be-

tween three and four hundred

housandwell-or-

ganized, well-equipped,

and well-trained Ger-

man

troops

were

still

deployed throughout

Norway;

thus

FestungNorwegen

was one of

the

last German

strongholds.

How

the

Norwe-

gians

were

to reclaim

their

country peacefully

material

deprivation

and

the

hardeninggrip

of

the

suppressors.

The

Norwegian

merchant

navy,

however,

a

backbone

of

the national

economy,

went into Allied

service

and

suffered

great

losses.

During

the war most

Norwegians

had their

hands full

just

to

keep

life

going.

On the

ideo-

logical

level,

the Germansandtheir

Norwegian

sympathizersskillfully played

on some

prewar

sentiments

present

n

various

parts

of

Norwegian

society, hailing

a sort of romanticnationalism.

An

active resistance

emerged,

but

many

people

who were

morally

against

the German akeover

had few

practicaloptions. They

had to

adjust

o

the

situation

that had been forced

upon

them.

There were, however, also some Nazi fanatics,

as well as

political opportunists

who

exploited

German and

local Nazi contacts

to

pursue per-

sonal

means.

As time went

on,

the

ugly

face of the

Nazi

regime

gradually

came to

light.

Jews were ar-

rested and

deported.

Retaliations,

error

and tor-

ture,

execution of

hostages,

and

other cruelties

turned he tide of

public

sentiment.The Nazi ide-

ology

was

exposed

as

different rom what

many

Norwegians

had

thought

it to be.

The under-

ground

resistance movement

rapidly

gained

in

importance.MoreNorwegianscommitted hem-

selves to

political

and

military

resistance,

hough

many

had

done

so from the

very

first

day.

Sev-

eral

central

positions

in

the resistancemovement

were held

by physicians;

this book is

about

an

important

group

of these

doctors.

The

Norwegian physicians

in

general

were

among

those citizens

who

had

the task of

keep-

ing society runningduring

the

war.

Maintaining

public

health was

in

the interest of

the

Norwe-

gian population

tself,

of

course,

but it was also

in the

interestof the German

occupiers.

Most

of

the practicing physicians and the hospital doc-

tors therefore found

themselves

in an

increas-

ingly

difficult and delicate

situation,

where

loy-

alty

was

constantly

an issue.

Maynard

Cohen's interviewees were dedi-

cated

patriots

and

prominent

membersof the re-

sistance.

They

worked for the

liberationof

Nor-

way,

also

preparing

or

the

reconstructionand

reorganization

of the

country

after the

antici-

pated

Germandefeat.

(When

the

surrender

f the

Third Reich was broadcaston 7

May

1945,

be-

tween three and four hundred

housandwell-or-

ganized, well-equipped,

and well-trained Ger-

man

troops

were

still

deployed throughout

Norway;

thus

FestungNorwegen

was one of

the

last German

strongholds.

How

the

Norwe-

gians

were

to reclaim

their

country peacefully

became an

issue

of

paramount

mportance,

as

the

alternative

presented

a

frightening

prospect.)

Many

of

Cohen's informants ater

held vital

positions

in

Norwegian society,

in

academic

medicine,

and

n the

medical services.

They

were

a

quite special

group.

Their

storiesare

nteresting

and

provide

new

information,

even to readers

who

are well

acquainted

with wartime

history-

or who

have known some of the

informants

per-

sonally.

The

interview materialhas

lasting

his-

torical

value,

for it sheds new

light

on

existing

knowledge.

But

although

the book is

vividly

written and

presents

itself as

exciting reading,

Cohen is not

always

as successful

as

one

could wish in

intro-

ducingthe interviewmaterial nto its proper on-

text.

Many

historical

events

are

described

pri-

marily

in relation to

the actions of

the

interviewees.

Although

their

actions often

were

remarkable,

Cohen's choice of

narrative

ap-

proach may

to a certain

degree

blur

the reader's

perspective.

The

general

view,

therefore,

will

perhapsappear

oversimplified,presented

almost

exclusively

in

the

light

of

the

difficult situation

faced

by

many Norwegians

before,

during,

and

after the

Second World War.

0IVIND

LARSEN

Dion

Farquhar.

The

OtherMachine:Discourse

and

Reproductive

Technologies.

Thinking

Gen-

der.)

xii + 258

pp.,

bibl.,

index. New York/Lon-

don:

Routledge,

1996.

$59.95

(cloth);

$17.95

(paper).

The

Other

Machine:

Discourse

and

Reproduc-

tive

Technologies

s a

well-written

and readable

book. It is

a

study

of what Dion

Farquhar

alls

the

two

principal

discursive

representations

f

science in general, and ARTs [assisted repro-

ductive

technologies]

in

particular:

iberal

and

fundamentalistdiscourse

(p.

2).

In this

state-

ment lies the book's

greatest

contribution-and

also

what

I

see as its limitation.

Assisted

reproductive

echnologies,

as schol-

ars in

the field have

often

noted,

tend

to be

por-

trayed

in

print

media in two

conflicting

ways.

On the

one

hand,

popular ournalisticphotos

of

miracle

babies,

delighted parents,

and lab fa-

ther white-coated

doctors fit well with

judi-

ciously

favorable

valuations ound

in

the

major-

ity of scientific writings. From this positive

perspective,

the

possibility

of

producing

test-

tube babies

and

the

like

increases

reproductive

choice,

is

pro-family,signifies technological

and

scientific

progress,

and has the

potential

to free

women in

particular

rom the

despair

of infertil-

became an

issue

of

paramount

mportance,

as

the

alternative

presented

a

frightening

prospect.)

Many

of

Cohen's informants ater

held vital

positions

in

Norwegian society,

in

academic

medicine,

and

n the

medical services.

They

were

a

quite special

group.

Their

storiesare

nteresting

and

provide

new

information,

even to readers

who

are well

acquainted

with wartime

history-

or who

have known some of the

informants

per-

sonally.

The

interview materialhas

lasting

his-

torical

value,

for it sheds new

light

on

existing

knowledge.

But

although

the book is

vividly

written and

presents

itself as

exciting reading,

Cohen is not

always

as successful

as

one

could wish in

intro-

ducingthe interviewmaterial nto its proper on-

text.

Many

historical

events

are

described

pri-

marily

in relation to

the actions of

the

interviewees.

Although

their

actions often

were

remarkable,

Cohen's choice of

narrative

ap-

proach may

to a certain

degree

blur

the reader's

perspective.

The

general

view,

therefore,

will

perhapsappear

oversimplified,presented

almost

exclusively

in

the

light

of

the

difficult situation

faced

by

many Norwegians

before,

during,

and

after the

Second World War.

0IVIND

LARSEN

Dion

Farquhar.

The

OtherMachine:Discourse

and

Reproductive

Technologies.

Thinking

Gen-

der.)

xii + 258

pp.,

bibl.,

index. New York/Lon-

don:

Routledge,

1996.

$59.95

(cloth);

$17.95

(paper).

The

Other

Machine:

Discourse

and

Reproduc-

tive

Technologies

s a

well-written

and readable

book. It is

a

study

of what Dion

Farquhar

alls

the

two

principal

discursive

representations

f

science in general, and ARTs [assisted repro-

ductive

technologies]

in

particular:

iberal

and

fundamentalistdiscourse

(p.

2).

In this

state-

ment lies the book's

greatest

contribution-and

also

what

I

see as its limitation.

Assisted

reproductive

echnologies,

as schol-

ars in

the field have

often

noted,

tend

to be

por-

trayed

in

print

media in two

conflicting

ways.

On the

one

hand,

popular ournalisticphotos

of

miracle

babies,

delighted parents,

and lab fa-

ther white-coated

doctors fit well with

judi-

ciously

favorable

valuations ound

in

the

major-

ity of scientific writings. From this positive

perspective,

the

possibility

of

producing

test-

tube babies

and

the

like

increases

reproductive

choice,

is

pro-family,signifies technological

and

scientific

progress,

and has the

potential

to free

women in

particular

rom the

despair

of infertil-

37070

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BOOK

REVIEWS-ISIS,

9:

2

(1998)

OOK

REVIEWS-ISIS,

9:

2

(1998)

ity.

On the other

hand,

certain

groups

have de-

nounced

reproductive

echnologies

in

ways

that

recall

the

antimodemistandromantictraditions

(whatFarquhar efers to as secular undamen-

talism ).

Among

the most vocal critics

have

been the Catholic Church

and

the

radical femi-

nists.

(For

canonical statements of these

posi-

tions,

see

the

document issued in

1987

by

the

CatholicChurch's

Congregation

or the

Doctrine

of

the

Faith,

Instructionon

Respect or

Human

Life

in Its

Origin

and on the

Dignity of

Procre-

ation,

reprinted

n EdmundD.

Pellegrino,

John

Collins

Harvey,

and John

P.

Langan,

eds.,

Gift

of

Life:

Catholic Scholars

Respond

to the Vati-

can Instruction

Washington,

D.C.:

Georgetown

University Press, 1990], pp. 1-41; and Reso-

lution from the

FINRRAGE

Conference,

July

3-

8, 1985,

Vallinge,

Sweden,

n

Patricia

Spallone

and Deborah

Lynn

Steinberg,

eds., Made to Or-

der: The

Myth of Reproductive

and Genetic

Progress

[New

York:

Pergamon

Press,

1987],

pp.

211-212.)

The Catholic Church

rejects

the

reproductivetechnologies

on the

grounds

that

they

alienate humans

from

their own

reproduc-

tion. The

feminist

denunciation

points

to the

ob-

jectification

of women

during

reatment,

he

poor

success rates

of

most

procedures,

he

technolog-

ical imperative hatcompels women to seek ex-

pensive

treatments

o

overcome

infertility,

dif-

ferential access to treatment

depending

on a

woman's

class, race,

and

country

of

residence,

and the fact

that

reproductive

echnologies

typ-

ically

reinforce the idea

of

the heterosexual

nu-

clear

family

as the desired norm.

Farquhar ap-

tures these sides of the cultural debate over

reproductive echnologies

with

clarity

and sub-

tlety.

Farquhar,

however,

does more than

simply

present

the

pro

and con sides of these con-

troversial

technologies. Labeling

the

pro

dis-

courses liberal and the con discourses fun-

damentalist,

he sets the

opposition

between the

two at the heart of her

book,

then devotes indi-

vidual

chapters

to

representative

writings

from

both

perspectives, discussing

in-vitro

fertiliza-

tion,

surrogate

motherhood,

and

prenatal

diag-

nostic

technologies.

Farquhar

uccessfully

illus-

trates that

writings

on assisted

reproductive

technologies

exist in

an

agonistic

discursive

ield

that

replicates

a

pattern

of

debate

widespread

n

Western liberal democracies. Conversely, she

shows

that

studying

the

special

case

of

repro-

ductive

technologies

can illuminate the

general

tendency

toward liberal/fundamentalist

olari-

zation

of

discursive

fields.

This double

claim is

what makes me confident that the

book will be

ity.

On the other

hand,

certain

groups

have de-

nounced

reproductive

echnologies

in

ways

that

recall

the

antimodemistandromantictraditions

(whatFarquhar efers to as secular undamen-

talism ).

Among

the most vocal critics

have

been the Catholic Church

and

the

radical femi-

nists.

(For

canonical statements of these

posi-

tions,

see

the

document issued in

1987

by

the

CatholicChurch's

Congregation

or the

Doctrine

of

the

Faith,

Instructionon

Respect or

Human

Life

in Its

Origin

and on the

Dignity of

Procre-

ation,

reprinted

n EdmundD.

Pellegrino,

John

Collins

Harvey,

and John

P.

Langan,

eds.,

Gift

of

Life:

Catholic Scholars

Respond

to the Vati-

can Instruction

Washington,

D.C.:

Georgetown

University Press, 1990], pp. 1-41; and Reso-

lution from the

FINRRAGE

Conference,

July

3-

8, 1985,

Vallinge,

Sweden,

n

Patricia

Spallone

and Deborah

Lynn

Steinberg,

eds., Made to Or-

der: The

Myth of Reproductive

and Genetic

Progress

[New

York:

Pergamon

Press,

1987],

pp.

211-212.)

The Catholic Church

rejects

the

reproductivetechnologies

on the

grounds

that

they

alienate humans

from

their own

reproduc-

tion. The

feminist

denunciation

points

to the

ob-

jectification

of women

during

reatment,

he

poor

success rates

of

most

procedures,

he

technolog-

ical imperative hatcompels women to seek ex-

pensive

treatments

o

overcome

infertility,

dif-

ferential access to treatment

depending

on a

woman's

class, race,

and

country

of

residence,

and the fact

that

reproductive

echnologies

typ-

ically

reinforce the idea

of

the heterosexual

nu-

clear

family

as the desired norm.

Farquhar ap-

tures these sides of the cultural debate over

reproductive echnologies

with

clarity

and sub-

tlety.

Farquhar,

however,

does more than

simply

present

the

pro

and con sides of these con-

troversial

technologies. Labeling

the

pro

dis-

courses liberal and the con discourses fun-

damentalist,

he sets the

opposition

between the

two at the heart of her

book,

then devotes indi-

vidual

chapters

to

representative

writings

from

both

perspectives, discussing

in-vitro

fertiliza-

tion,

surrogate

motherhood,

and

prenatal

diag-

nostic

technologies.

Farquhar

uccessfully

illus-

trates that

writings

on assisted

reproductive

technologies

exist in

an

agonistic

discursive

ield

that

replicates

a

pattern

of

debate

widespread

n

Western liberal democracies. Conversely, she

shows

that

studying

the

special

case

of

repro-

ductive

technologies

can illuminate the

general

tendency

toward liberal/fundamentalist

olari-

zation

of

discursive

fields.

This double

claim is

what makes me confident that the

book will be

of

general

interest to historiansof

science;

it is

also what makes it a

good

text to teach.

In the first

chapters

of her book

Farquhar

r-

gues

that neither iberal nor

fundamentalistdis-

courses can

capture

the

intricacies,

ambiva-

lences,

and

multiple meanings

of the new

reproductivetechnologies.

In her final

chapter

she

explores

the idea

of

(m)other

discourses,

discourses that

would

transcend

the limitations

of both

valorizing

progressivist

iberaldiscourse

and

victimizing,

Luddite fundamentalist dis-

course. Because she has restricted her data to

what she calls written extual

productions

p.

14;

emphasis

n

the

original),Farquhar

s unable

to draw on the materialand

experiential

cultures

of reproductive technologies. But most of the

people

who are

actually

involved with these

technologies

do have

(m)other

discourses as

their mother

tongue,

as,

depending

on

circum-

stances,

their attitudes are sometimes

positive,

sometimes

negative.

The

discourses

Farquhar

examines are

relatively

stable

end-products

of

many

elements. Had she considered he

practice

and

material

culture of these

technologies,

and

the

ways

in

which

patients

and

practitioners

n-

tegrate

hese

technologies

with other

demands

n

their

lives,

she

might

have been able to under-

stand both the contingency of-and the inter-

connections between-the

fundamental

and

lib-

eral discoursesand the recalcitrance nd

solidity

of

these narratives.

CHARISCUSSINS

Desley

Deacon.

Elsie Clews Parsons:

Inventing

Modern

Life.

(Women

in

Culture

and

Society.)

xviii

+

520

pp.,

frontis., bibl.,

index.

Chicago/

London:

University

of

Chicago

Press,

1997.

$29.95.

Bom

into the New York

elite in

1874,

indepen-

dent-mindedElsie Clews earned a Ph.D.

in

so-

ciology

from

Columbia

n

1899,

entered nto an

experimental marriage

with

Republican poli-

tician HerbertParsons

in

1900,

and then

taught

at Barnard

College

and did settlement house

work while

producing

six

children,

of whom

four

survived.

Between

1905

and

1916

she wrote

five

popular

books

on sex

roles,

morality,

and

the

family,

using

bits

of

ethnographic

data

to

challenge contemporary

American

beliefs and

practices, particularlywith regardto women's

roles. What

she

sought

was

rationality

n

social

relationships

and the freedom or each individual

to

develop

her or his

potential.

She

argued

for

trial

marriage,

divorce

by

mutual

consent,

and

reliable

contraception,

deas so controversialat

of

general

interest to historiansof

science;

it is

also what makes it a

good

text to teach.

In the first

chapters

of her book

Farquhar

r-

gues

that neither iberal nor

fundamentalistdis-

courses can

capture

the

intricacies,

ambiva-

lences,

and

multiple meanings

of the new

reproductivetechnologies.

In her final

chapter

she

explores

the idea

of

(m)other

discourses,

discourses that

would

transcend

the limitations

of both

valorizing

progressivist

iberaldiscourse

and

victimizing,

Luddite fundamentalist dis-

course. Because she has restricted her data to

what she calls written extual

productions

p.

14;

emphasis

n

the

original),Farquhar

s unable

to draw on the materialand

experiential

cultures

of reproductive technologies. But most of the

people

who are

actually

involved with these

technologies

do have

(m)other

discourses as

their mother

tongue,

as,

depending

on

circum-

stances,

their attitudes are sometimes

positive,

sometimes

negative.

The

discourses

Farquhar

examines are

relatively

stable

end-products

of

many

elements. Had she considered he

practice

and

material

culture of these

technologies,

and

the

ways

in

which

patients

and

practitioners

n-

tegrate

hese

technologies

with other

demands

n

their

lives,

she

might

have been able to under-

stand both the contingency of-and the inter-

connections between-the

fundamental

and

lib-

eral discoursesand the recalcitrance nd

solidity

of

these narratives.

CHARISCUSSINS

Desley

Deacon.

Elsie Clews Parsons:

Inventing

Modern

Life.

(Women

in

Culture

and

Society.)

xviii

+

520

pp.,

frontis., bibl.,

index.

Chicago/

London:

University

of

Chicago

Press,

1997.

$29.95.

Bom

into the New York

elite in

1874,

indepen-

dent-mindedElsie Clews earned a Ph.D.

in

so-

ciology

from

Columbia

n

1899,

entered nto an

experimental marriage

with

Republican poli-

tician HerbertParsons

in

1900,

and then

taught

at Barnard

College

and did settlement house

work while

producing

six

children,

of whom

four

survived.

Between

1905

and

1916

she wrote

five

popular

books

on sex

roles,

morality,

and

the

family,

using

bits

of

ethnographic

data

to

challenge contemporary

American

beliefs and

practices, particularlywith regardto women's

roles. What

she

sought

was

rationality

n

social

relationships

and the freedom or each individual

to

develop

her or his

potential.

She

argued

for

trial

marriage,

divorce

by

mutual

consent,

and

reliable

contraception,

deas so controversialat

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