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Gay Men and Surrogacy

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LGBT-Parent Families

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the scholarship on gay men who have become parents through the assistance of a surrogate mother. Gay fathers choosing surrogacy are at the cutting edge of pushing society to reassess its assumptions and constructions about sex, reproduction, and parenthood. I begin this chapter by outlining some of the guiding theoretical perspectives that have been used to frame the scholarship on sexual minority parenting and assisted reproductive technologies. Next, I detail the different types of surrogacy arrangements and the demographic profiles of those gay men who use surrogacy. I review the few yet promising studies on gay fathers and surrogacy, exploring the rationales behind the men’s choice to construct their family using this pathway; the relationships that develop between expectant fathers, surrogate mothers, and their children; and finally, the consequences for family formation. Then, I briefly discuss the emerging trend of reproductive outsourcing, consider the current legal issues facing gay fathers who use surrogacy, and conclude by offering suggestions for research, theory, policy makers, and practitioners.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Bergman et al. (2010) never divulge how many of these 40 men were biological fathers.

  2. 2.

    The Greenfeld and Seli (2011) study did not include any information about household income.

  3. 3.

    This number in only reflective of the 37 out of 40 men who answered the question on income.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, Louisiana State University, 126 Stubbs Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Dana Berkowitz

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  1. Dana Berkowitz
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Correspondence to Dana Berkowitz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Psychology, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, 01610, Massachusetts, USA

    Abbie E. Goldberg

  2. , Department of Human Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State, 401C Wallace Hall (0416), Blacksburg, 24061, Virginia, USA

    Katherine R. Allen

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Berkowitz, D. (2013). Gay Men and Surrogacy. In: Goldberg, A., Allen, K. (eds) LGBT-Parent Families. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4556-2_5

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