Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
2nd International Gender Studies in Turkey Conference, İstanbul, Türkiye, 7 - 08 Aralık 2024, ss.25-26, (Özet Bildiri)
As products of the contexts in which they are embedded, technologies cannot be regarded as separate from the social framework, namely the socio-political and economic conjuncture. Likewise, technologies are not merely technical objects, but rather they are ideologically endowed entities with agency that can directly or indirectly affect humanity's perception of reality. In particular, medical technologies have influenced and transformed the way humanity perceives both itself and the world. At this point, ultrasound technologies have been widely discussed by feminist literature, and the logos of the ultrasound technique that presents the fetus as an ontological unity in itself has been the subject of numerous studies. Not only do ultrasonography technologies project the fetus as larger than any other bodily part, but they also enhance the volume of the heart sounds. In this way, the fetus becomes individualized and humanized. Ultrasound makes visible what lies beyond the uterus, raising many debates about abortion and women's reproductive rights. New social, cultural and political understandings that envision the fetus as a patient, individual, being and human being are provoked through ultrasound. Therefore, seeing the body through ultrasound means interpreting the body with certain social, cultural and political connotations and thus it is not an act unladen with value. This presentation will introduce the rapidly advancing feminist literature on the ultrasound technique and will present the debates on ultrasound and abortion in Turkey based on semi-structured interviews with 27 physicians from various medical specialties who employ ultrasound technologies. In doing so, this work will also trace the commodification of the practice of ultrasonography and will illustrate its transformation into an object of consumption.