Bio-Objectification and Biobanks. Review

Bio-objectification is presented in this paper along with a discussion about the boundaries of life in the biomedicalization paradigm, including the biobanking processes that are crucial to the emergence of bio-objects. Regarding methods and materials, STS methodology is implemented and the actor networks that play a significant role to bio-objectification are investigated. The discussion follows through these lens on how bio-objects are co-produced through a multitude of sociotechnical factors, reflecting on how the emergence of bio-objects and the concept of life that stems from them are socially constructed. The standardization of biobanks, population construction through a co-production of technosocial factors, the momentariness of bio-objectification, and the concept of bio-identification are presented and critically reflected upon. The main purpose is to combine a philosophical perspective with an STS one regarding the issue of shifting the boundaries of life through the concept of bio-objectification.