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Jennifer Takhar: when markets move into intimacy and living matter
Jennifer Takhar teaches marketing on the Lille campus of SKEMA Business School. Affiliated with the Transformation Academy and the Marketing Interactions (MINT) research center, she conducts research at the intersection of marketing, sociology, and cultural studies. Her work examines market transformations in the era of biotechnology, digital technology, and new forms of consumption related to the body and health.
Academic background and main research themes
I am an interdisciplinary scholar working across marketing, sociology, and cultural studies. My academic background combines critical theory with empirical research on markets and consumption and my work is shaped by themes such as consumer culture, identity formation, power relations in markets, persuasion theories, literary theory, and the socio-cultural implications of emerging technologies, especially within late capitalism.
Current research questions and interests
My recent research focuses on how markets are being reshaped by biotechnology and digital technologies. Key questions include:
How do consumers engage with and make sense of biotech innovations (e.g., fertility technologies, genetic services)? In what ways are digital platforms transforming consumption, subjectivity, and value creation? How do markets organize intimate and bodily experiences, particularly in areas like reproduction and health? What ethical and social tensions emerge when life itself becomes a site of economic exchange?
Repro Mark research collective
Repro Mark research collective I officially created the Repro Mark research group in March 2026 with a gentle push and a shove from my dear friends and colleagues in the UK, although the idea was sitting in my head for about 8 years! Repro Mark is a collaborative research initiative that examines the commercialization of human reproduction. The collective brings together scholars interested in how reproductive processes such as egg donation, surrogacy, and fertility services are shaped by market forces. It seeks to explore issues like:
The commodification of reproductive labor and bodies, Inequalities and global dynamics in fertility markets, The role of technology in transforming reproduction. And Ethical, political, and cultural debates around reproductive markets.
Please check out some recent publications that reflect these issues in detail:
