Men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people negotiating conception: Normative resistance and inventive pragmatism

Riggs, D., Pfeffer, C., Pearce, R., Hines, S. and White, F.R. 2021. Men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people negotiating conception: Normative resistance and inventive pragmatism. International Journal of Transgender Health. 22 (1-2), pp. 6-17 conception. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2020.1808554

TitleMen, trans/masculine, and non-binary people negotiating conception: Normative resistance and inventive pragmatism
TypeJournal article
AuthorsRiggs, D., Pfeffer, C., Pearce, R., Hines, S. and White, F.R.
Abstract

Background: Growing numbers of men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people are undertaking pregnancies, yet relatively little is known about the experiences of this diverse population in regard to conception.

Aims: This study sought to examine men’s, trans/masculine, and non-binary people’s experiences of pregnancy, including conception.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 51 men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people who were gestational parents living in Australia, Canada, the European Union (including the United Kingdom), and the United States. Thematic analysis was undertaken, focusing on accounts of conception. Pfeffer’s (2012) conceptual frameworks of normative resistance and inventive pragmatism were used as an analytic tool.

Results: Themes developed focused on: 1) choosing a clinic donor, 2) kinship with donors, 3) conceiving via intercourse with a partner, 4) negotiating receipt of donor sperm, 5) challenges associated with known donors, 6) challenges associated with fertility clinics, and 7) experiences of conception.

Discussion: The forms of normative resistance and inventive pragmatism identified suggest that men, trans/masculine, and non-binary people who are gestational parents seek to normalize their experiences of conception, while also acknowledging the specific challenges they face.

Article numberconception
donor conception
men
non-binary
reproduction trans/masculine
JournalInternational Journal of Transgender Health
Journal citation22 (1-2), pp. 6-17
ISSN2689-5269
Year2021
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2020.1808554
Publication dates
Published online01 Sep 2020
Published in print2021
FunderESRC (Economic & Social Research Council)

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