Disembodied/Reembodied: Reimagining Images of Reproduction

Abstract: Much attention has been called to the ways in which the 2022 Dobbs decision disempowers women in medical decision-making. The decontextualization of women’s experience in discussion about reproduction is not new. Its past can be found in long-18th century obstetric texts depicting the moment in medicine when reproduction and childbirth were medicalized and women were actively disembodied. As the healthcare community wrestles with the realities of healthcare inequity around reproductive and sexual health, we argue that artistic interpretation of history can help peel back the intertwining layers of medical power and social expectation to reassert the agency of female patients. Through interdisciplinary engagement between art, history of medicine, and bioethics - this project reimagines these historical medical experiences as ones in which women held onto agency in their bodies. This session will explore the product of this collaborative printed folio and exhibit titled Disembodied/Reembodied. Through viewing re-imagined flap print images and artistic reembodiements of the cadavers depicted in 18th century medical texts, presenters and participants will deconstruct the continuities of female experiences of becoming disembodied through the medical gaze in both the long 18th century and today. This folio in conversation with reproductive ethics cases invite session participants to engage in group discussion around the experience of reproduction in the United States, including the shifting legislative landscape, unequal and abysmal rates of maternal and fetal mortality, and high rates of cesarean sections.