Making a Family
Kinning and Conception in Lesbian Families
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3628151 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Allison Geerts (0000-0002-8817-6451, Stockholm University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1-22 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00918369.2025.2469579 |
| PMID | 40080729 |
| OpenAlex | W4408402087 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 37 |
In the Netherlands, lesbian couples have a relatively high level of agency in shaping conception, as they can choose between different donor constructions (sperm bank donor versus contact donor), high- and low-tech medical interventions, and clinical and non-clinical inseminations. This results in pluriform conceptive practices, which this paper examines through the lens of kinning, i.e. the active establishment of kinship ties. This paper aims to increase our understanding of how lesbian couples shape conception and how this is related to existing kinship discourses, particularly discourses on motherhood and the role of the donor. 48 semi-structured interviews with both partners in 24 lesbian couples expecting their first child were conducted and thematically analyzed. Analysis show that kinning intentions play an important role when lesbian couples make decisions for conception. Reaffirming the lesbian relationship and managing the relationship with the sperm donor were central concerns. I conclude that conception is a symbolically laden event in which different strategies could be employed to set the stage for desired future family relations. As such, conceptive practices provide a window into how expectant lesbian couples understand and mold existing kinship discourses to fit their families
Agency (philosophy · Developmental psychology · Kinship · Lesbian · Sociology · Sperm · Sperm donation · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology
The cultural contradictions of motherhood
Who carries the baby? How lesbian couples in the Netherlands choose birth motherhood
Mothering Queerly, Queering Motherhood
After Kinship
The Kinning of Foreigners
A Guide to Abductive Thematic Analysis
Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Looking Like a Family
Imagination and integrity
Money, Birth, Gender
But our worlds are different!”
Disciplined parents and autonomous children
The Research Pendulum
Conceiving the New World Order
Family Complexity in Europe
Successful Qualitative Research
Queering Reproduction
The donor, the father, and the imaginary constitution of the family
Choreographies of sperm donations
De novoFamilies
American Kinship
The de-kinning of birthmothers
The Space Between
Who Needs a Father? Negotiating Biological Fatherhood in British Lesbian Families Using Self-Insemination
Opting Into Motherhood
Theory Construction in Qualitative Research
A Sense of Connectedness in Reproductive Donation. Contrasting Policy With Donor and Donor Kin Lived Experience
We Are Three Parents, but Legally Two
Telling Reproductive Stories
Bringing Kinship into Being
Display Work
The gas that fuels the engine
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |