Producir humanidad a partir de leche donada: un análisis de las redes de laboratorios de los Bancos de Leche Humana

Abstract

I examine the accomplishments of the laboratory networks of Human Milk Banks (HMBs) in Brazil, which I describe as manifestations of socially and scientifically sanctioned discourses and practices. I argue that the donation of 'maternal' milk, which is considered 'biomedically' to be a raw material and a "natural female" body fit for specific consumption, becomes a cultural achievement when it undergoes a series of chemical and social procedures. In this way, it is transformed into a product of the biotechnological complex and scientific thought that is fit for consumption by all of humanity. Thus, it becomes a universal, purified product that depersonalises and decentralises the feminine role in milk production through technological and bureaucratic control and 'disciplinarisation' of women and their homes. To achieve this, I engage in dialogue between contemporary anthropological approaches to the social studies of science and technology and my experience as a milk donor and anthropology researcher. I expand the research by using libraries and virtual search platforms to investigate materials from fields such as biomedicine, biology, and nutrition, which are within the scope of the socio-anthropological analyses proposed here.

Keywords: Human Milk Bank; Milk donation; 'disciplinarization'; control; purification.