Project Description:
Xenopia is a research-design project aimed at prototyping a domestic hormones Beta HCG test as a tool to address reproductive justice and the right to access abortion. To investigate the historical, scientific practices around living interfaces as controlling technologies. The right to access abortion is under attack, and Beta HCG testing is a mandatory test to access safe abortion, but it is poorly available for people living in rural areas and in marginalised conditions. Weeks of pregnancy are the playing field on which the war against access to abortion is waged, so we see in this prototype the possibility of facilitating the path autonomously by giving people back control. Collectives defending reproductive rights in countries where abortion is illegal or restricted do not have access to this kind of testing. With an inter-species perspective, we will develop this prototype and participatory workshops as a political act of empowerment and a concrete response to reproductive justice.
Project Type: Kick Starting Grant
Theme: Justice and Equity, Health
Mentor:Jacqueline Goldin
Xenopia: Participatory Art and Open Science for Reproductive Rights
by AlmaFutura
In November 2023, a controversial bill was debated in Italy: it aimed to amend Law No. 194 of 1978, which regulates access to abortion by requiring doctors to make individuals seeking to terminate a pregnancy listen to the fetus’s heartbeat. This initiative sought to perpetuate a culture of shame, promote a gynecology of violence, and delay access to abortion without directly prohibiting it.
Xenopia is, above all, a visceral response to the anger we—Isabel and Giulia—feel as women, artists, and researchers facing the increasing restrictions on reproductive rights imposed by political institutions in Italy.
We are AlmaFutura, a studio that merges design, anthropology, education, and science to co-create tools for radical cultural change in the realms of reproductive, intimate, and gynaecological health. We use technology not only as a means of provocation and speculation but also as a way to learn about our bodies and connect with individuals oppressed due to gender and societal taboos. Since 2018, we have been developing educational materials, toolkits, and participatory methodologies that are accessible, open-source, and rooted in open science. Most importantly, we are two women dedicated to creating listening, care, exchange, and self-determination spaces.
Thanks to Impetus4CS, we are currently developing the Xenopia participatory research and prototyping project. The name “Xenopia” is inspired by Xenopus laevis, a frog species historically used as a model organism in laboratories to study the pregnancy hormone beta HCG and as a living pregnancy test.
Xenopia is a research, art, and design initiative aimed at prototyping a domestic Beta HCG hormone test (pregnancy test) to promote reproductive justice and the right to access abortion. We employ open science and biohacking approaches to critically examine the role of technology in controlling and limiting bodies and choices.
“Contextual biology, through hacking, is a form of social resistance in which members of the lay public conduct scientific research beyond institutional walls in order to challenge the status quo. The experiment is conducted in public, placing centrality on the individual who acquires sets of knowledge outside their expertise and situates this process within the public space.”
Mary Maggic, Open Source Estrogen, Kabul Magazine 2024
Current digital pregnancy tests contribute to technological waste, exploit animals, are costly, and are not designed with the abortion experience in mind—despite beta HCG testing being a mandatory requirement. Furthermore, abortion and reproductive rights are often dictated and restricted by top-down policies, whereas they require direct participation and input from affected communities.
Through workshops, talks, and hack sessions, we share our research and host participatory discussions, encouraging people to develop ideas and contribute to the project. Our goal is not only to create a functional prototype for a reusable beta HCG hormone detection test but also to collectively envision ideal futures where safe and accessible abortion is a fundamental right.
Throughout this journey, we are collaborating with individuals, transfeminist collectives, hackers, and organizations advocating for reproductive rights in Italy. These stakeholders are directly involved in conceptualizing and developing technological prototypes for beta HCG detection.
Our evolving project is available at https://al-ma.org/Xenopia.
The research is also featured in our Italian podcast XENOPIA LIBERA (English version coming soon).
Upcoming Hack Sessions:
- 23/10/2024: Xenopia Hacksession Vol. 1 @ Hackteria ZET Open Science Lab (Zurich)
- 16/11/2024: Xenopia Hacksession Vol. 2 @ Hackrocchio (Turin)
- 15/12/2024: Xenopia Hacksession Vol. 3 @ Centro delle Donne (Bologna)
