Barbies. By social definition they are a plastic doll with a specific set of physical features which children play with in order to entertain themselves. Now, when it comes to choosing ones Barbie the child has a range of physiques and professions to chose from. By choosing what Barbie they want the child is inadvertently selecting their preferred vision of ‘human’ (Dittmar, H., Ive, S., & Halliwell, E., 2006, p. 283-292). Think of this scenario in terms of designer babies. If we as potential parents have the ability to select specific physical features of our children then are we not doing the same thing as that child is by choosing the doll he or she wishes to play with? If you compare the idea of a genetically altering your child’s physical features with that of a child selecting his or her toy based on its features or its colourful clothing, is that not similar? In response to this week’s lecture on trans-humanism an argument will be formed around the idea of genetic modification of infants. Despite the negative connotations of designer babies, the use of genetic modifications for medical purposes can have positive impacts on today’s society. In order to better understand this topic, I will be discussing the ramifications of altering a baby’s: gender, health or appearance.
Gender. It’s a simple question, would I want my child to be a girl or a boy? But in today’s society is it that black and white? The social hierarchy throughout history shows us that males are dominant over females and are therefore the superior species (Mungello, D. 2008 p.1-9). In ancient Rome the fathers had authority over the entire household. Ultimately they controlled who lived and who died. Langer W. (1974) comments that as a child’s worth was judged on their build “it would seem likely that female babies were promptly disposed of after birth”(Lange W. 1974, p.129). As ruthless as this idea might seem many other cultures practiced similar notions of infanticide. China, India and Aztec are the most well known. This quote from a scholar-poet Su Shi describes one of the reasons why infanticide in china occurred (Yutang, L. 1947, p.220-223). If these civilizations had the option to choose the gender of their child what do you think they would choose? A boy or a girl? You might be thinking why do I need to know any of this? Albert Einstein once said, “Any fool can know. The point is to understand” (Dalcher, P. 2014, p.3). My point is that we as future parents need to understand that people (whether it be now or in the past) may be prejudice towards one gender and therefore pick one over the other. Now this is not necessarily bad but if like in ancient Rome or China the majority of females were disposed of, society would become unbalanced in terms of boy to girl ratio. What would our society look like? In 2015 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducted a survey that compared males and females in society and found that, “men continue to hold the majority of Australia’s top leadership positions” (ABS, 2015). It was also recorded that 65% of “Commonwealth justices and judges and 77% of all State Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges were [men],” (ABS, 2015). An article by Philips K. (2016) discusses the benefits diversity has in the workplace. Commenting on the notion that all parties involved have a chance to learn from each other and therefore have a more balanced approach to running an organization (Philips, K. 2014). In corroboration to this idea a study was conducted by Deszö C. and Ross D. which studied the effect of gender diversity on the top firms in the U.S. they found that “companies that prioritized innovation saw greater financial gains when women were part of the top leadership ranks”(Ross, D., & Deszo, C. 2012 p.1-20). Overall, diversity is important to the growth of our society; if we give people a definitive option to choose the gender of their child this concept may become unstable. Thus, if society focuses on the ABS statistics instead of the facts gained from Philips’ research, it might be possible that parents may be prone to choosing the gender of their child based on the idea that they will be earning more money for their future household, in a similar way to history where men were the sole bread bearers in the family.
Health. It is a vital part of our lives. While the medical profession has advanced over the years and have found the cures to many diseases there are still many more genetic and hereditary diseases out there that do not have a cure. By using the IVF biotechnological engineers are able to genetically modify a child’s DNA in order to reduce genetic markers that cause certain genetic and hereditary diseases, much the same way that a child’s appearance or gender could be modified (Regalados, A. 2015). Doctor Luhan Yang who was interviewed in an article for MIT (2015) explains this idea rather well when he says, “By editing the DNA of these cells or the embryo itself, it could be possible to correct disease genes and pass those genetic fixes on to future generations. Such a technology could be used to rid families of scourges like cystic fibrosis”(Regalados, A. 2015). According to the Australian Cystic Fibrosis Data Registry (2013) in the year 2012 3,156 people were recorded as having cystic fibrosis (Bell S. et.al, 2013, p.1-11). It is also clear from this graph the number of adults diagnosed is rising. If we had the resources available to reduce this number for future generations don’t we owe it to them to try?
Appearance is something that the media is always talking about. It is part of our identity, of whom we are as individuals, its part of what makes us individual. But if someone was permanently designed in the way another wanted what does this do to his or her identity? From birth they were designed with the features of another persons desires. An article written by CBSNEWS in 2009 discuses a similar idea to this, except they talk about the issue from an economical standpoint as well as an ethical one. The topic of enhancing a human physical form is discussed between two opposing parties where Dr. Jeff Steinberg (who is against it) argues it should not just be about what you can sell to a client but what you can do to help their needs (CBSNEWS, 2009). He also states earlier in the article that he disagrees with being able to genetically modify the appearance of ones child so freely as for him it would come down to: preference of a ‘the best’ trait, economic status of the patient and lastly economic profit of the doctor (CBSNEWS, 2009). There is also the idea that people can abuse this modification process. Aryan race or the master race was an idea Hitler tried to instil in to Germany before and during World War II in the 1900s (Lind M, 2016, p.1). His tactics in creating this ‘pure race’ were propaganda, encouraging Aryan women to have children by giving them safe havens for them to give birth in, awarding Aryan men with Hünenkreuz medal of purity. He even went as far as to alter the social hierarchy so that the Aryan race was at the top and non-Aryan were at the bottom (South African History Online, 2011). Now what’s to say that this will not happen in today’s society through the use of this leap in genetic biotechnology?
To design or not to design? That is the question and one that will generate much debate today and into the future. Diversity within gender is important to the growth of our society. If we give people the opportunity to choose the gender of their child, given the historical preference towards males, this may lead to a socially disabling gender imbalance. A person’s individual identity may become something of another’s desires as well as a doctor’s profit, through the exploitation of genetically modifying a child’s appearance at the behest of the parent. Despite the negative connotations of designer babies, the use of genetic modifications for medical purposes can and does have positive impacts on today’s society. It is helping to reduce genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis. But I leave the decision up to you, what is your opinion on the matter? What is advancement and what is going too far?
Here is the link to the video
Bibliography
Websites/PDF
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS),. (2015). 4125.0 – Gender Indicators, Australia, Aug 2015. Abs.gov.au. Retrieved 20 April 2016, from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4125.0~Aug%202015~Media%20Release~Still%20fewer%20women%20in%20positions%20of%20leadership%20(Media%20Release)~10011
Bell, s., Bye, p., Cooper, P., Jack, D., Jaffe, A., & Martin, J. et al. (2013). CYSTIC FIBROSIS IN AUSTRALIA 2012 (1st ed., pp. 1-11). Baulkham Hills NSW: Cystic Fibrosis Australia. Retrieved from http://www.cysticfibrosisdata.org/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=143948
CBSNEWS,. (2009). “Designer Babies” Ethical?. Cbsnews.com. Retrieved 20 April 2016, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/designer-babies-ethical/
Dittmar, H., Ive, S., & Halliwell, E. (2006). Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-Year-Old Girls (1st ed., pp. 283–292). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://willettsurvey.org/TMSTN/Gender/DoesBarbieMakeGirlsWantToBeThin.pdf
Lind, M. (2016). The German ‘Master Race’. (pp. 1) schoolhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2016, from https://schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/sourcework/masterrace.pdf
Ross, D., & Deszo, C. (2012). Does Female Representation in Top Management Improve Firm Performance? (1st ed., pp. 1-20). Smith School of Business. Retrieved from https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/3063/female_representation.pdf
South African History Online,. (2011). How did the Nazis construct an Aryan identity? | South African History Online. Sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 24 April 2016, from http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/human-rights-issues-during-and-after-world-war-ii-focus-nazi-germany-grade-12-0
Books/ Journal Articles
Burgess,M. (2016). Looking good gives workers an even better chance of success in their careers. Courier Mail, 1(1). Retrieved from http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/work/looking-good-gives-workers-an-even-better-chance-of-success-in-their-careers/news-story/dc957f0fcccb219c0936235b50472601
Dalcher, P. (2014). Making Knowledge Count: Where to find Meaningful Information. PM World Journal, 3(6), 3. Retrieved from http://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/pmwj23-jun2014-Dalcher-making-knowledge-count-SeriesArticle.pdf
Langer, W. (1974). Further Notes on the History of Infanticide. History Of Childhood Quarterly, 2(3), 129. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/openview/d28b37c6e39f4e86946772e322cf9b5a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar
Mungello, D. (2008). Drowning girls in China (pp. 1-9). Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Philips, K. (2014). How Diversity Makes Us Smarter. Scientific American, 1(1). Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/
Regalado, A. (2015). Engineering the Perfect Baby. MIT Technology Review, (1). Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/535661/engineering-the-perfect-baby/
Yutang, L. (1947). The Gay Genius: The life and Times of Su Tungpo (pp. 220-223). New York: John Day.
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