Jean Purdy, IVF (in vitro fertilization) and Narrative: An Autoethnographic Look at Ben Taylor’s Joy

Serap Duman İnce

doi:10.5195/cinej.2026.808

Jean Purdy, IVF (in vitro fertilization) and Narrative: An Autoethnographic Look at Ben Taylor’s Joy

Authors

Serap Duman İnce Akdeniz Üniversitesi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.808

Keywords:

Jean Purdy, IVF, in vitro fertilization, endometriosis, adenomyosis, autoethnography, Joy (2024), reproductive technologies, feminist film theory, haptic visuality, biopolitics, women in science, Ben Taylor

Abstract

This article highlights Jean Purdy’s invisibility in the history of in vitro fertilization (IVF), as shown in Ben Taylor’s 2024 film Joy, and considers the film’s portrayal of Purdy as having endometriosis. . This article adopts an autoethnographic approach, linking it to my own extensive and challenging IVF journey following a diagnosis of adenomyosis. The article draws on feminist epistemology and reflexivity to establish emotional and intellectual connections between the film’s narrative and my embodied experiences. Through these connections, I seek to voice the experiences of women who have been silenced by biopolitical systems. Purdy’s portrayal in the film is analyzed through the lens of Foucault’s concept of biopolitics, Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, Haraway’s notion of situated knowledge, and Marks’s concept of haptic visuality. This analysis contends that personal yet socially marginalized experiences should be integrated into academic knowledge and collective understanding. The autoethnographic narrative explores the process of becoming a mother through IVF, demonstrating how themes of fragility and resistance reveal the embodied politics of reproductive technologies and the epistemic potential of personal experience.

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Published

2026-10-15

How to Cite

Duman İnce, S. (2026). Jean Purdy, IVF (in vitro fertilization) and Narrative: An Autoethnographic Look at Ben Taylor’s Joy. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 14(2), 123–158. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2026.808

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Vol. 14 No. 2 (2026): Fall

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