Feminist Technosciences Rebecca Herzig and Banu Subramaniam, Series Editors Molecular Feminisms BIOLOGY, BECOMINGS, AND LIFE IN THE LAB DEBOLEENA ROY University of Washington Press Seattle Publication of this open monograph was the result of Emory University’s participa- tion in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries. TOME aims to expand the reach of long-form humanities and social science scholarship including digital scholarship. Additionally, the program looks to ensure the sustainability of university press monograph pub- lishing by supporting the highest quality scholarship and promoting a new ecology of scholarly publishing in which authors’ institutions bear the publication costs. Funding from Emory University and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation made it possible to open this publication to the world. www.openmonographs.org Copyright © 2018 by Deboleena Roy Printed and bound in the United States of America Interior design by Thomas Eykemans Composed in Chaparral, typeface designed by Carol Twombly Cover design by Katrina Noble Cover photograph by Kheyal Roy-Meighoo and Koan Roy-Meighoo 22 21 20 19 18 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. University of Washington Press www .washington.edu/uwpress library of congress cataloging-in-publication data lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018010432 ISBN 978-0-295-74409-4 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-295-74410-0 (pbk), ISBN 978-0-295-74411-7 (ebook) The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0. To my parents, Ila and Manick Roy, for inspiring me to work hard To my sister, Madhumeeta Roy, for encouraging me to dream big To my partner, Sean Meighoo, and our children, Koan and Kheyal Roy-Meighoo, for reminding me to laugh and play every day Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Stolonic Strategies 3 1 Biophilosophies of Becoming 33 2 Microphysiologies of Desire 57 3 Bacterial Lives: Sex, Gender, and the Lust for Writing 90 4 Should Feminists Clone? And If So, How? 128 5 In Vitro Incubations 160 Conclusion: Science in Our Backyards 202 Glossary 207 Notes 213 Bibliography 231 Index 255 Acknowledgments I have been torn between the natural sciences and humanities for a long time. In fact, this book has probably been in the works since the day I sent in my acceptance to pursue a doctoral degree in molecular biology and reproductive neuroendocrinology. By accepting that admissions offer and extremely rewarding academic path, I declined an offer from an envi- ron mental studies program where my plan was to study bioethics, environ- mental justice, and women’s reproductive health movements. At my side while I made this difficult decision about my academic trajectory was a cadre of feminists who encouraged me to stay in the “hard” sciences, to become a feminist scientist, to learn the science that was being used to dev elop new reproductive and genetic technologies, and to participate in the creation of scientific knowledge. A long time coming, this book is a direct result of that encouragement. At any given point in my intellectual journey, I have been unbelievably fortunate to have many generous feminist mentors at my side. Several of them welcomed me into their midst while I was just an undergraduate student studying microbiology. Laura Sky introduced me to some of the most fierce and eloquent scholar-activists I have ever come across, includ- ing Shree Mulay, Karen Messing, Sunera Thobani, and Elizabeth Abergel. As a master’s student studying in a cancer biology lab at McMaster Uni- versity, my supervisor Andrew Rainbow supported my interdisciplinary tendencies; when I had finished required course work in genetics and radiobiology, he encouraged me to take a directed reading course in the philosophy department. For this opportunity, I am forever grateful. Through this course, Elizabeth Boetzkes introduced me to the work of Sandra Harding, Helen Longino, Nancy Tuana, Alison Wylie, and Joseph Ix