Themes and Questions

We welcome academic papers, performances, oral history presentations, or roundtable discussions on any of the following themes:
Law, Ethics and Sexual/Reproductive Control, Past and Present

  • Eugenics and state sanctioned sterilisation
  • Legislation of specific family forms
  • Family, disability, immigration and welfare policy as informal means of control
  • Sex work, sex surrogacy and the state
  • Practices affecting First Nations people concerning family rights and reproductive capacity

Medicine and Sexual/Reproductive Control, Past and Present

  • Prenatal screening and genetic counseling
  • Differential access to Assistive Reproductive Technologies based on sexuality, disability, age, marital status, class, religion or citizenship
  • The use of chemical restraints to control desire and fertility in prison and institutional populations and targeted community groups

Social Services and Sexual/Reproductive Control, Past and Present

  • Formalized means of reproductive control in the welfare state – family, disability and welfare policy
  • Guardianship arrangements, autonomy and sexual and reproductive freedom
  • Funding arrangements that preclude sexual agency or family autonomy

Representation and Controlling Sexuality, Past and Present

  • Visual culture, current and historical
  • Moving images – television, film, video, theatre, performance, digital landscapes
  • Narratives and Oral Histories of survivorship

The conference aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and exciting. Selected papers may be developed for publication in a themed edited volume(s). All publications from the conference will require editors, to be chosen from interested delegates from the conference.