Infertilities, A Curation: Understanding the Role of the Reproductive Arts
One in six families struggles with infertility, according to the CDC. Yet infertility and reproductive loss are often not seen or memorialized in mainstream culture or the art world. Despite the growth of online support networks and celebrity testimonials, infertility has long remained a source of stigma or secrecy in many communities. Treatments have also long been associated with significant physical and financial barriers, and patients now have reason to fear new political and legal hurdles. A 2024 Alabama Supreme Court decision that defined frozen embryos as legally equivalent to living children temporarily halted IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatments in the state and suggested the extent of potential future threats to fertility care across the United States since the overturning of Roe v Wade. Since that ruling, the politicization of “pro-family” rhetoric has reached an all-time high, with presidential candidates fielding questions related to protecting IVF. Through these moments, a new awareness situating infertility as a reproductive justice issue has emerged.
In light of these developments, this talk focuses on the experiences of reproductive loss and infertility and the role of the reproductive arts. Featuring panelists who contributed to the edited collection, Infertilities, a Curation, attendees will learn how personal engagements with artistic making can be a source of personal healing, community building, and advocacy when discussing infertility and reproductive grief. Whether attendees come to this talk as someone personally affected by infertility or someone who wants to learn more about the experiences of individuals facing reproductive loss, this talk invites participants to consider how creative practices can aid in efforts to heal individual traumas and the role artists can play in advocating for social justice issues related to health and medicine.
Maria Novotny is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Drawing on a reproductive justice framework, she writes about reproductive advocacy, in particular infertility and recurrent reproductive loss. Her co-edited collection Infertilities, A Curation, published by Wayne State UP, portrays the ranging experiences of infertility in art and writing. She also serves as the Co-Director for The ART of Infertility, which is an arts-based infertility storytelling project.
Queer Independent Filmmaking in the Midwest
Join the Shutz Lecture Series for a lecture and screening from award-winning film director, producer, and screenwriter Wendy Jo Carlton. Her talk will focus on her work creating authentic fiction films and television as a queer midwestern artist making independent work. Wendy Jo just completed production on her fourth feature film - Lucy is a Loser, an independent feature film about the healing power of weirdness, music, human touch, and other vibrations. Her works have screened internationally, including at Sundance, The AFI, on PBS, Outfest, Women in the Director’s Chair, and the Vancouver, London, Chicago, Austin, and San Francisco Lesbian Gay Film Festival among others. Her film Jamie and Jessie are Not Together was called the first lesbian RomCom musical, and rated as one of the “Top 100 Lesbian Movies of All Time”. Her other features can be viewed on Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV, and Amazon Prime. Carlton was also an Associate Producer on the award-winning documentary, Circus of Books, on Netflix (2021). Her award-winning lesbian web series, Easy Abby, has received over 100 million views online. A first-generation college graduate, Wendy Jo founded a media literacy film program for teen girls called Chicks Make Flicks, before earning an MFA in Film from the University of Illinois Chicago.