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Sperm Exchange on the Black Market: Exploring Informal Sperm Donation Through Online Advertisements
Author(s) -
Holme Ingrid
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
sexuality, gender and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2639-5355
DOI - 10.18278/sgp.1.1.3
Subject(s) - sperm donation , sperm , donation , black market , state (computer science) , legislation , politics , corporate governance , egg donation , business , set (abstract data type) , public relations , advertising , political science , biology , law , genetics , computer science , finance , algorithm , programming language
States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including organs, blood, and gametes, and this political governance involves a complex set of relationships between the state and its citizens. While new technologies persistently redefine family relationships, regulation and legislation are used to hold these fixed and static. Within sperm donation, the recipients transform into parents to form families, while the donor's identity and sexuality are considered to be unaffected by the action of donating sperm or gaining the status of sperm donor. Despite official efforts to sanitize the process, the practice of sperm donation is characterized in some quarters by efforts to evade or outflank the official restrictions on it. This paper explores the circumvention of such control, through examining informal sperm donation occurring outside of state regulation.