Diane Tober, PhD, is a medical anthropologist, documentary filmmaker, and Assistant Professor at University of California, San Francisco Institute for Health and Aging. She was also a 2016-2017 Women’s Policy Institute Fellow working on legislation in reproductive justice. Her forthcoming book, Romancing the Sperm: Shifting Biopolitics and the Making of Modern Families (Rutgers 2018) explores the intersections between the sperm-banking industry, the women who select donors for their future children, and men’s experiences as sperm donors. She is currently conducting research on egg donors’ decisions and experiences at UCSF. Her documentary film, The Perfect Donor, weaves together egg donors’ stories to reveal how young, healthy women are recruited for the high-demand market in human eggs and what happens to them in the process. She has also conducted field research in Iran and Spain. Her research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and University of California, San Francisco. She has written for Undark, Psychology Today, and Rewire, and has appeared in Huffington Post, Nature, The Atlantic, and Die Welt, among others. She has also appeared on BBC, public radio, and a range of news and media outlets. She is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in her field, and is regularly sought out for television, radio, and print interviews.
Sub-specialties: Commodification of the body, including sperm, eggs, and kidneys; gender and sexuality; women's and reproductive health; abortion; science and technology studies; comparative bioethics (Islamic and western); reproductive justice; medical tourism; emerging bio-technologies; Afghan refugees; US, Spain, Iran, and the Middle East.
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Romancing the Sperm: Shifting Biopolitics and the Making of Modern Families
Rutgers University Press [September 2018] -
The Perfect Donor
Documentary Film [To be released in 2018] -
What to Think About When Considering Donating Eggs
Rewire [March 2017] -
The Price and Politics of Women's Eggs
Undark [6/2016] -
Designer Genes: ADHD, Dyslexia, and Selecting Perfect Donors
Psychology Today [January, 2016] -
Die schmerzhafte Realität des „Social Freezing“ (The Painful Reality of Social Egg Freezing)
Die Welt [November 2014] -
Harvesting Human Eggs & International Surrogacy; Abortion Rights Freedom Ride
KPFA Radio, Women's Magazine [August 2013] -
Kidneys and Controversies in the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Case of Organ Sale
Body and Society [2007] -
"Fewer Children, Better Life" or "As Many as God Wants"? Family Planning Among Low Income Iranians and Afghan Refugees in Isfahan, Iran
Medical Anthropology Quarterly [2006] -
Semen as Gift, Semen as Goods: Reproductive Workers and the Market in Altruism
Commodifying Bodies, Sage Press. [2002]