Gestational Surrogacy: Nature and Culture in Kinship

摘要: Anthropological writing about the new reproductive technologies has focused on how they undermine presumed links between nature and culture in kinship. Surrogate motherhood particular is said to show that "natural facts" serve as symbolic resources facilitate choice, a key value of Western culture. This work generated important insights into contemporary discourse social cultural implications technology. However, treating domain exacerbates tendency divorce kinship from biology. An analysis stated motives women who become gestational surrogates presented here support an argument focus emotion, its manipulation, can help anthropologists better integrate human study (Surrogacy, kinship, nature, culture) ********** Peletz (1995) dates end "essentialist thinking" Needham's (1971) Rethinking Kinship Marriage. That volume effectively decentered field well before postmodernism, indefatigable enemy essence, reared head anthropology. The old view, held since Morgan, something specific built combination discrete elements (terminologies rules descent, marriage, residence) gave way emphasis context, where seen be embedded constellations gender, power, difference, contradiction, paradox, ambivalence. Contemporary analyses gay families surrogate bring these points home, demonstrate destabilized building blocks our own societies have become. (1995:366) approves dismantling "building blocks" approach kinship's anticipation postmodern critique, but criticizes associated development, anthropology "turned back" He sees this especially unfortunate because developments technology make "'nature' biology more relevant analytic thinking than been Morgan." provides particularly good opportunities for reappraisal relationships "natural" sociocultural aspects reproduction opportunity revisit some unresolved issues arises split genetic opened range options. Conception pregnancy separated turned commercial transactions professionally managed procedures. A woman give birth her grandchild, example, by carrying daughter's egg. Embryos frozen child brought world long after parents are dead. existence such choices makes once apparently secure connections biology, folk conception ideology, categories less stable were. Does bend accommodate changes or, paraphrase Ragone (1996:363), surrogacy placed inside tradition? Overall, anthropological literature takes strongly culturalist one illustrates Peletz's point antipathy toward biological models recent literature. (1998:2) explanations with determinism, androcentrism, ethnocentrism factors behind tunnel vision previous accounts reproduction. (1998:120) notes, "Reproduction concerned topics no central cosmology ... definitions personhood; production knowledge." Quoting Schneider, whose critique idea anchored procreation was influential undermining building-blocks Needham's, (1998:124) says, "It increasingly clear 'biological' primarily significance . …