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Current Sociology
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Constructing Relatedness

Ethnicity, Gender and Third Party Assisted Conception in the UK

Lorraine Culley

De Montfort University, Leicester, UK, lac{at}dmu.ac.uk

Nicky Hudson

De Montfort University, Leicester, UK, nhudson{at}dmu.ac.uk

This article explores how conceptual frameworks around new reproductive technologies may be influenced by religious and cultural contexts. Using data derived from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project on the public perceptions of gamete donation in British South Asian communities, the article discusses women's narratives of third-party assisted conception in infertility treatment, as constructed in focus group discussions. The analysis suggests a strong contrast in perceptions of egg donation and sperm donation. Embodied motherhood had the effect of naturalizing the use of donated eggs for women. Fatherhood, however, was seen as constituted by genetic relatedness in a patrilineal cultural context. Using donated eggs, then, was considered less problematic than using donated sperm. However, the embodiment of motherhood, the attachment of women to their biological material and the emotional ties of even `detached' reproduction, meant that women simultaneously had difficulty in imagining themselves becoming egg donors.

Key Words: assisted conception • ethnicity • gamete donation • gender • infertility • motherhood • new reproductive technologies

Current Sociology, Vol. 57, No. 2, 249-267 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0011392108099165
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