biopunk

Biopunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction and a broader cultural tendency that examines biotechnology and genetic engineering in near-future or alternate-present settings. It shares cyberpunk’s interest in the social consequences of advanced science but centers on biology, wet labs, and the encroachment of life sciences into everyday life. Biopunk stories typically explore how power, markets, and state or corporate interests shape bodies, genomes, and ecosystems, as well as the ethics and risks of manipulation at the cellular level.

Biopunk emerged in the 1990s as a reaction to rapid advances in genetics and the increasing visibility of DIY biology. It emphasizes low-cost, accessible science and the potential for both empowerment and abuse. Notable works commonly associated with biopunk include Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl, and the film Gattaca. In addition to fiction, biopunk has influenced real-world culture through community biology labs, biohacking meetups, and discussions about biosecurity, regulation, and the ethics of editing living matter.

Common themes include genetic modification, cloning, and synthetic biology; questions of inequality and who controls life; eugenics and bodily autonomy; surveillance and corporate power; and the tension between democratized science and potential ecological or social risk. The aesthetic often features gritty or decayed urban environments juxtaposed with high-tech laboratories, highlighting bodies and identities as sites of political struggle. Biopunk continues to intersect with transhumanist ideas and debates about the future of medicine, agriculture, and the environment.