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Article
Surviving Difference: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Intergenerational Justice, and the Future of Human Reproduction
Feminist Theory 19:2 (2018) pp. 205-221
  • Robyn Lee
  • Roxanne Mykitiuk, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2018
Keywords
  • Brominated flame retardants,
  • Critical disability,
  • Endocrine-disrupting chemicals,
  • Intergenerational justice,
  • Intersectionality,
  • Phthalates,
  • Queer theory
Abstract

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been identified as posing risks to reproductive health and may have intergenerational effects. However, responses to the potential harms they pose frequently rely on medicalised understandings of the body and normative gender identities. This article develops an intersectional feminist framework of intergenerational justice in response to the potential risks posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We examine critiques of endocrine disruptors from feminist, critical disability and queer standpoints, and explore issues of race and class in exposures. We argue that responding to the risks posed by endocrine disruptors such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and phthalates requires developing a theory of intergenerational justice that recognises relationality and transcorporeality, and that also recognises harm in terms of suffering, not in terms of difference.

Citation Information
Lee, Robyn and Roxanne Mykitiuk. "Surviving Difference: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Intergenerational Justice, and the Future of Reproduction." Feminist Theory. Forthcoming.