2009 Jill Vickers Prize

Winner: Candace Johnson (University of Guelph)

The Political ‘Nature’ of Pregnancy and Childbirth (2008 CPSA conference paper)

Excerpt from jury report: This paper examines theoretical debates concerning “medicalization” as they are manifested in the increased demand for “natural”childbirth. Many feminist theorists argue that medical intervention in pregnancy and childbirth is unwarranted and disempowering, and devalues women’s abilities and experiences. Criticism of medical intervention is strongest among privileged women, and is expressed as preference for “natural,” “traditional,” or “normal” approaches and practices. Reverence for the natural, Johnson argues, is a political claim that asserts social position, identity, and resistance. She considers this political claim to be demonstrated in a physical and psychic duality, a “split subjectivity,” that is exacerbated by the sharpness of the public-private divide in women’s lives.