Lesbian Motherhood

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction — Charting the Lesbian Baby Boom

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 1-17

3. Gender, Families and Social Change

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 18-42

4. In Search of Doctors, Donors and Daddies: Lesbian Reproductive Decision-Making

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 43-77

5. Queering ‘Public’ Space

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 78-109

6. Negotiating the Biological ‘Tie’: Identity, Power and Difference Among Lesbian Parents

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 110-148

7. Challenging Heteronormativity?: Gender Flexibility and Lesbian Parenting

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 149-178

8. Conclusions: Beyond Assimilation and Transgression

   • Róisín Ryan-Flood

   Pages 179-192

9. Back Matter

   Pages 193-217

   PDF

This book studies the growing number of lesbian women embarking on parenthood after coming out. Theoretical debates about lesbian motherhood often consider its assimilative or transgressive dimensions. This book offers a different approach, contextualising lesbian motherhood in relation to sexual citizenship and hegemonic discourses of kinship

• gender
• social change
• women

'opens up a range of fascinating debates about lesbian parenting decisions' - European Journal of Women's Studies

'offers a unique and original exposition of the complex and multi-faceted issues contemporary lesbians face when deciding to become parents' - Feminism and Psychology

'...an invigorating discussion of the ways in which state policy inflects the desire for and experience of parenthood for lesbians. Through her gaze, questions of sexual citizenship assume new breadth and complexity, and the reader is encouraged to rethink the vexed issues of assimilation vs. subversion as they have shaped discussions of LGBT family and parenthood.' - Journal of Contemporary Sociology

'...[an] extraordinary book...The complexity and subtlety of Ryan-Flood's analysis prevents a simplistic reading of actions and decisions made by lesbian parents as either oppressions or resistance...This timely book will be of interest to academics and researchers interested in social changes and challenges around the institution and everyday practices of the family, in social policy and family law and reproductive technologies, as well as to scholars of queer theory and to those interested in lesbian and queer lives.' - Studies in the Maternal

'...a timely contribution to current US debates on the definition of marriage and its impact on families...By using the narratives of

lesbian couples to uncover their personal beliefs, struggles and triumphs while attempting to build their own families in a culture that continues to privilege heterosexual families, makes this book a unique contribution. This highly engaging text is suitable for any upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses in sociology, women's studies, and social policy that delve into dynamics of citizenship, gender and sexuality.' - Canadian Journal of Sociology

'...a unique and original exposition of the complex and multi-faceted issues contemporary lesbians face when deciding to become parents, along with the ensuing concerns and issues that parenthood itself brings.' - Feminism and Psychology

'...opens up a range of fascinating debates about lesbian parenting decisions in the two national contexts.' - European Journal of Women's Studies

• University of Essex, UK

  Róisín Ryan-Flood

RÓISÍN RYAN-FLOOD is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex. Her research interests include gender, sexuality and citizenship. She is co-editor of Secrecy and Silence in the Research Process: Feminist Reflections (Routledge, 2009). Her current research explores identity, diaspora and sexual citizenship

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