In her new book, Judith Roof, a feminist scholar trained both in law and in the humanities, investigates the contemporary crisis over the representation of 'the father' in culture. With old and familiar patriarchal metaphors losing force, she argues, the role long played by the idea of the father is up for grabs.

Reproductions of Reproduction is about the loss of the paternal metaphor and how the ensuing scramble to relocate it has set off a series of representational crises. Examining the sudden popularity of such figures as cyborgs, bodybuilders, and vampires; shifts in legislation about abortion, paternity and copyright; the transition to a digital-based society; the emergence of lesbian and gay studies; the growing infatuation with hyper-realistic patterns in television, this book argues that each of these manifestations represents an attempt to resituate the paternal metaphor. While this shift affects our understandings of everything from narratives to law to time, it also suggests a point of potential political intervention, allowing us to identify the full implications of these changes.