Paper short abstract:

Transhumanism is a movement that aims to enhance the human condition and limitations through various technological means such as genetic engineering. How transhumanism is influencing feminism, and Afro-feminism in particular is less understudied.

Paper long abstract:

Transhumanism is a movement that aims to enhance the human condition and limitations through various technological means such as genetic engineering. How transhumanism is influencing feminism, and Afro-feminism in particular is less understudied. As feminism aims to promote equal rights and opportunities for women, the question is what is the normative import of the intersections between these two ideologies for human reproduction choices in Africa’s futures. Since the transhumanist movement became popular in recent years, there has been ongoing research and debate about the sustainability prospects and possibilities of transhumanism for women, particularly in the area of reproduction and procreation. Transhumanist-feminist advocates for the development of technologies, which could give women more autonomy over their reproductive choices. Noting that in African societies, there is a significant amount of expectation placed on women and their social roles in the society, particularly in regards to child-bearing in the face of numerous physical and biological challenges, how can transhumanism shape the cultural stereotypes and conversation around human reproduction in Africa? To address some of the challenges of reproduction, the medical procedure known as Assistive Reproduction Technology (ART) which includes procedures such as surrogacy, In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) among others, was developed. However, these assistive reproductive techniques have been faced with numerous sociocultural and ethical criticisms in Africa. Considering the transhumanist ideology, the purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of womanhood and motherhood, reproduction and the African idea of personhood in order to analyze the prospect of assisted reproductive technology for promoting reproductive rights in Africa within a transhumanist framework.

Keyword; Assistive reproductive technology, transhumanism, reproductive rights, dignity