The call for article submissions is now open for the Dossier “Politics of Reproduction: Latin American Perspectives”, which will be published in April 2026, in issue 58.1 of the journal Antropolítica, linked to the Graduate Program in Anthropology at the Fluminense Federal University (PPGA/UFF). The dossier is organized by researchers Camila Fernandes (UERJ, RJ), Laura Lowenkron (UERJ, RJ), and Marjorie Murray (UC-Chile).
Submission deadline: June 7, 2025.
About the Dossier:
Starting from the premise that all reproduction is political (Ginsburg & Rapp, 1995) and/or all politics is reproductive (Briggs, 2017; Fonseca et al., 2021), this dossier aims to foster a regional dialogue among Latin American perspectives on the topic. Reproduction is understood here as a polysemic concept, not limited to a phenomenon culturally conceived as biological but also including social reproduction and care practices. These elements challenge boundaries between protection and control, market and non-market, professional and domestic spheres, domination and reciprocity, techniques and emotions, attachment and repulsion, love and hate.
Reproduction can also be seen as the means by which new generations are produced. In this sense, it is often at the center of political disputes and processes concerning the future of communities, nations, or peoples (Fonseca et al., 2021).
Thus, by discussing “politics of reproduction,” we invite debates on national imaginaries, family, desire, control, and state interventions, particularly where the sexuality and fertility of racialized and marginalized groups are at stake. The term “politics of reproduction” was introduced in anthropological debates in the 1990s (Ginsburg & Rapp, 1995) to highlight how reproduction is structured by social forces and power relations that intertwine and connect intimate dynamics, national policies, and global economic logics (Fonseca et al., 2021). This perspective does not overlook the agency of individuals, particularly women, in their daily efforts to shape their reproductive lives amid power relations and structural constraints.
Focusing on reproductive politics in Latin America, Lynn Morgan and Elisabeth Roberts (2012) coined the term “reproductive governance,” which was later revisited by Claudia Fonseca et al. (2021). This concept highlights how reproductive policies are shaped through the actions of multiple social actors and intersect with different forms of governmentality. Furthermore, “reproductive governance” serves as an analytical tool to trace historical changes and regional specificities in moral regimes and political rationalities regarding reproduction.
While the late 20th century witnessed a shift from a reproductive governance model focused on population control to one emphasizing sexual and reproductive rights, this transition occurred alongside austerity policies and the rise of neoliberalism, which led to setbacks in social support systems and healthcare services (Morgan & Roberts, 2012). Consequently, reproductive rights discourses that center on individual choice or autonomy have often been tied to market-driven frameworks that reinforce “stratified reproduction” (Colen, 1995) and “reproductive hierarchies” (Diniz & Mattar, 2012), based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, and geopolitical location.
In the current context, marked by growing social inequalities and conservative appropriations of reproductive rights language, it is essential to consider the multiple agents involved in both care relations and reproductive rights violations. This raises critical questions: who has access to reproductive rights? Who is recognized as a “rights-bearing subject” in reproductive politics? Who can desire reproductive rights, and on what terms? How are these rights forged or claimed in different contexts and by different actors? Which rights-bearing subjects are being produced through governance mechanisms anchored in reproductive rights discourse?
Based on ethnographic research conducted in various regions of Brazil and/or Latin American countries, this dossier seeks to gather studies that shed light on these questions through diverse empirical cases and contexts. This proposal builds upon the seminar “Politics of Reproduction: Latin American Perspectives,” held on September 20, 2022, at the Institute of Social Medicine at UERJ, which brought together researchers from Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
References:
BRIGGS, L. How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics: From Welfare Reform to Foreclosure to Trump. Berkeley: University of California Press.
COLEN, S. “Like a Mother to Them”: Stratified Reproduction and West Indian Childcare Workers and Employers in New York. In: GINSBURG, F. D.; RAPP, R. (eds.). Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995, p. 78-102.
FONSECA, C.; MARRE, D.; RIFIOTIS, F. “Governança reprodutiva: um assunto de suma relevância política.” Horizontes Antropológicos, 2021, v. 27, n. 61, pp. 7-46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-71832021000300001.
GINSBURG, F.; RAPP, R. (eds.). Conceiving the New World Order: The Global Politics of Reproduction. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. (Introduction)
MATTAR, L. D.; DINIZ, C. S. G. “Hierarquias reprodutivas: maternidade e desigualdades no exercício de direitos humanos pelas mulheres.” Interface – Comunicação, Saúde, Educação, 2012, v. 16, n. 40, pp. 107-120. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1414-32832012005000001.
MORGAN, L. M.; ROBERTS, E. F. S. “Reproductive Governance in Latin America.” Anthropology & Medicine, v. 19, n. 2, p. 241-254, 2012.
Considering the evaluation criteria imposed on scientific journals, up to 50% of the selected articles may be authored by doctoral students, while the remaining must include at least one author holding a doctoral degree. All submitted articles will undergo blind peer review by external referees, following the journal’s editorial policy.
To accommodate theoretical and methodological diversity across different empirical fields and debates, submissions are preferably expected from Anthropology and Social Sciences, adhering to UFF’s exogeneity parameters.
Important: Since multiple calls for papers are currently open, authors must indicate in the “Comments to the Editors” field that their submission is intended for the Dossier “Politics of Reproduction.”
Submission deadline: June 7, 2025, via the journal’s electronic submission system.
This text was originally published on the online page of the journal Antropolítica.