Social Implications of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) on Women in India

Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Ahead of Print.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a technological innovation enabling infertile women to conceive through medical procedures. However, social inferences of IVF need to be contextualised within gender dynamics, especially in India. Though several studies have examined specific social aspects of IVF none have delineated the combination of determinants as well as implications of IVF for women. The present study assesses various social factors influencing choices for infertility treatments like IVF, and also the implications for women undergoing IVF. For a nuanced understanding of these conditions in the larger social context of India, 41 studies discussing important indices like gender dynamics, health status, power relations and social vulnerabilities of women experiencing IVF have been critically reviewed. Based on the review we contend that social pressures, gender identity, desire for a biological child, fear of marital discord and loss of self-esteem are most important factors determining such decisions.

Constructing Adolescent Sexuality Through Schooling: Analysis on Gender Socialisation in All-girls Schools at the Secondary Level in Kerala

Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Ahead of Print.
This article seeks to understand the processes of gender socialisation in schools. The article endeavours to analyse the construction of normative femininity in the strict contours of schooling and to capture the response of students to it. The context of this article is the critique of the celebrated Kerala development model, suggesting that a better status for women continues to be a challenging process. The research was carried out on adolescents in two all-girls schools in Kerala, a convent private school and a government school. Qualitative research methods were used for the study. The research foregrounds how schooling continues to perpetuate the social control of girls that undercuts the efforts and aims of the curriculum. The article presents key aspects of the socialisation of female sexuality that spawns a stereotypical and rigid femininity.