‘Women want it’: In-vitro fertilization and women's motivations for participation

This paper is a partial summary of work undertaken as part of a degree in Sociology in 1984 at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.My research centred on two areas: the experience of women participating in an IVF program, and the use of that data to argue against a prevalent theme in discussions related to technology—that technology is neutral.The analysis of women's motivations for participation in an IVF program reveals that in order for IVF to be developed and implemented certain prerequisites are necessary. They include (a) adherence to the dominant ideology of motherhood; (b) the discourse on fertility, and (c) the dynamics of male medical science. I argue that IVF mirrors power relations between males and females as groups, and as such already its design reflects specific assumptions.