Reproductive geopolitics: Governing in/fertile bodies in Mexico’s past and present

Abstract

Building on work in feminist geopolitics, we discuss how the governance of in/fertility affects the value assigned to different bodies and the question whose bodies and lives are considered as worthy of reproducing in Mexico. To reveal the geopolitical entanglements of past and present forms of reproductive governance, we investigate the transnational connections of Mexico’s fertility network with Spain and the United States of America. We juxtapose visual materials from political campaigns of the past with advertisements for present-day fertility clinics to trace the reproductive geopolitics of (post)colonialism that shape current developments, practices, and discourses in this transnational fertility network. Each pair of visuals exemplifies particular times and spaces of reproductive geopolitics. The paper reveals how the contemporary Mexican fertility market is shaped by transnational forms of reproductive governance. We employ visual juxtaposition to provoke readers to think about the entanglement of present-day fertility markets with past reproductive geopolitics.