Sammendrag
This article focuses on human procreation as a cultural construction in Western thought. It argues that ideas about procreation depend on religio-cultural ideas about man/woman as well as changing theories about the human body. Tracing the changing ideas about human procreation the article focuses on three paradigm shifts: Christianity (focusing on its roots in antiquity), natural science (with an emphasize on the Enlightenment), and the "pro-life" rhetoric of contemporary Christian antiabortionists. In all three discourses the female body is construed in opposition to the male and defined in terms of its function in human procreation. Arguing that the various cultural ideas about man/woman is conditioned by dualism, the article aims to throw light on how and why women are construed as ambiguous creatures in Western thought.Forfattere beholder opphavsretten og gir tidsskriftet rett til første publisering av arbeidet. En Creative Commons-lisens (CC BY-SA 4.0) gir samtidig andre rett til å dele arbeidet med henvisning til arbeidets forfatter og at det først ble publisert i dette tidsskriftet.