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Budapest W5: Politics of Reproduction - Class Notes

How do CEU self-identifying queer people think of personally having kids through birth/adoption/surrogacy or remaining childless?
  1. Do either of your parents identify as being non-heterosexual?
  2. What does having children mean to you? 
  3. Does 'parenthood' appeal to you? If yes/no, why?
  4. What would deter you from becoming a parent?
  5. Has your decision in becoming a parent changed? If yes/no, why?
  6. How would you define a family?
  7. What kind of representation of queer families have you seen?
  8. Do you think there is adequate representation of queer families?
  9. Who would you consider influencers on your decision to become a parent?
  10. Are you aware of any limitations that might stop you from becoming a parent?
  11. Do you feel like your genes need to be connected to your children?
  12. What kind of parenting role/identity 
Families - sociological summary of non-heterosexual families

What makes a family? Different types of families 
- This is a process of construction (social construction and ongoing process) - actively doing families
- Use of rituals/imagined kinship groups/everyday practice
- Shaped by legal/socio-economic/ideological context/stigma/nationality/immigration status

How do you become a parent?
- How do you develop your identity as parent?
- Who counts as a good parent?

Outcome for kids in different types of families
- What kind of families are the ideal for children to grow up in? In regards to... success? Happiness? 

Family dynamics - division of labour, break-ups
- Non-heterosexual unions where gender-identities are different, is the div. of labour similar or diff where gender-identities are more fixed

How do we use the concepts learnt from this reading to understand Gamson's reading?

Family making processes - surrogacy, IVF, adoption (meaning no one parent is genetically related more to a child than another)
Does this construction of the family subvert the injustices that they might face as LGBT people?

Subversive: They subvert the meaning but don't destroy it 

Choice about having children - a process that leads towards a decision - agency looks different in this context - how is that agency shaped 

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