Haunting Images: A Cultural Account of Selective Reproduction in Vietnam

332 Pages·2014·2.979 MB·English

by  Tine M Gammeltoft

Haunting Images
A Cultural Account of Selective
Reproduction in Vietnam
Tine M. Gammeltoft
university of california press
Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
A
B O OK
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Haunting Images
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Haunting Images
A Cultural Account of Selective
Reproduction in Vietnam
Tine M. Gammeltoft
university of california press
Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship
in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and
by philanthropic contributions from individuals and
institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2014 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gammeltoft, Tine, author.
Haunting images : a cultural account of selective
reproduction in Vietnam / Tine M. Gammeltoft.
pages cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-27842-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-27843-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-95815-9 (ebook)
1. Abortion—Moral and ethical aspects—
Vietnam. 2. Abortion—Social aspects—Vietnam.
I. Title.
HQ767.5.V5G36 2014
179.7′609597—dc23 2013038507
Manufactured in the United States of America
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support
environmentally responsible and sustainable printing
practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures
Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste
and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
For Anna and August
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Prologue: Haunting Decisions 1
Introduction: Choice as Belonging 7
1. Sonographic Imaging and Selective Reproduction in Hanoi 29
2. A Collectivizing Biopolitics 59
3. Precarious Maternal Belonging 77
4. “Like a Loving Mother”: Moral Engagements in
Medical Worlds 101
5. “How Have We Lived?” Accounting for
Reproductive Misfortune 131
6. Beyond Knowledge: Everyday Encounters with Disability 164
7. Questions of Conscience 194
Conclusion: Toward an Anthropology of Belonging 225
Appendix: Core Cases 237
Notes 241
Bibliography 269
Index 303