deconstructing the virgin birth trope

supernatural pregnancies like the virgin births have played a role in mythological myths and modern media, such as Anakin Skywalker and the midiclorians. the purpose is usually to set up for some legendary hero or character who is special in some way. Most of those stories mostly skip over real world consequences and uncomfortable questions. What I was interested in doing was deconstructing that trope and show this in a more realistic way. Part of the intent is to highlight the ramifications of having motherhood forced on an individual unexpectedly through unknown means and whatever resulting issues the person may have with that (confusion, issues with consent, etc), plus the larger ramifications for society in general. One idea is to make it less of a "miracle" and more a very rare condition that the scientific community is at a loss to explain. This form of parthenogenesis has been documented for several decades, and any female of childbearing age appears to be susceptible. DNA testing reveals that the resulting offspring is a genetic clone of its mother, with no biological linkage to any male father. Due to its randomness, it has been marked as a medical illness.

Are there any books or media that handle this topic? what real world factors should one consider when writing it?

edited 21st Jun '18 7:09:08 PM by ExultantPeep

Moral hang-ups about purity? I thought that the idea is that a virgin birth is scientifically impossible and so a child being born from a virgin would be considered a miracle as it could only happen via divine/magical intervention. It happens in fiction because writers are intentionally drawing parallels between their hero and Jesus. Same reason why self-sacrifice and symbolic resurrections are so common among heroes. It's all just literary shorthand for "hey, this character is virtuous and messianic like Jesus".

I guess a "deconstruction" would be something like the "miracle" was really caused by the mother being impregnated through a means other than, y'know, the traditional way. Really, the most realistic thing that could happen is just that everyone assumes the woman is lying about being a virgin.

edited 21st Jun '18 2:50:34 PM by WSM

In a lot of stories with unexplained pregnancies, it's generally assumed that not only was the woman lying about being a virgin, but that she's been having an affair or secret relationship, and her baby-daddy is hiding somewhere. If she's in a Feuding Families situation, someone's going to assume that "one of THOSE men" seduced her and knocked her up, and it's not going to be pretty.

Sure, you can TECHNICALLY get pregnant the first time you have sex, but in practice it usually takes at least a few more tries.

Parthenogenesis?
I’ve never heard about it occurring in mammals. Could be wrong though.

Now, if one introduced some genetically-engineered parthenogenesis made available Next Sunday A.D., x-plained with some opaque technospeak (recycling some Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness material from economists and literary critics), then one could nail this sucker like a god-emperor.

Then observe how partheno-generated offspring claims both godhood and empire…
I’d pay real Murican dollaros to watch that shit. Then dupe it and torrent it.

edited 25th Jun '18 6:25:06 AM by AlityrosThePhilosopher

Parthenogenesis is impossible in mammals. There was a case wherein a woman seemingly got pregnant without a father and scientists assumed it was Parthenogenesis. Though scientists later found out that parthenogenesis is impossible in humans-and it turned out the woman had been drugged and raped without her knowledge.

Well, for one take on this subject, see the TV show Jane the Virgin, in which a girl who had never had sex is accidentally impregnated through artificial insemination. It doesn't make any claims to immaculate conception, but it does attempt to deal with the realistic consequences of this (pretty unlikely) eventuality.