How Identity Evolves in the Age of Genetic Imperialism

From designer babies to women whose genitals smell like peaches, 2014 graced us with a taste of the hope, hype and superficiality of business as usual in Silicon Valley. It is tempting to listen to those who tell us that there is a gene-hack to solve every “problem”—that DNA is just a code to personalize at will.

This brand of genetic determinism has invaded all realms of life, from our dating scene to our social networks. 23andMe genetic-test results flourish on Facebook and OkCupid. Better still, the online-dating platform SingldOut matches partners based on the personality traits supposedly determined by their DNA. Even a recent study from Yale University concluded that our friends resemble us genetically. To cap it off, a subfield of political science now studies the heritability of temperamental and personality traits, which influence political values and decision-making. This becomes more sobering when one considers that scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York are investigating the genetic cause of suicide in the hope of developing suicide DNA tests.

This is politics, love and death...