Commercial Surrogacy Is not a Secret Handshake

It Is a High-Five: Gay Fathers in China's Changing Landscape

Bibliographic Data

ID5609667
AuthorsEileen Yuk-Ha Tsang (0000-0002-2353-2769, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Hong Kong, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume76
Issue4
Pages779-789
Publication date2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-1315 • E-ISSN: 1468-4446
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1468-4446.13214
PMID40220266
OpenAlexW4409386628
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited59

In 2023, China introduced regulatory amendments to birth certificates and the hukou (household registration) system, aiming to boost birth rates and offset an aging population. However, the implications of these changes on marriage and family support amidst population policy shifts remain underexplored. One particular area is how commercial surrogacy (CS) impacts gay communities where couples seek surrogate children to maintain intergenerational bonding and bridging within their familial and kinship networks. This article employs Bourdieu's field theory, characterized by class-based capital and habitus, to examine how upper-class gay individuals navigate this changing field in the three municipal cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 35 upper-class gay fathers and 21 gays' parents, their agency and changes in pursuing parenthood through transnational and underground CS in China are illustrated. This article posits that the formation of the family is inherently tied to the class-based cultural capital and habitus of the gay individuals. The reproductive decision-making process within the gay community reflect strategies to form families are imbued with class-based capital and habitus

China · Handshake · Political science · Sociology · Telecommunications · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Engineering · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Reproductive Health and Technologies

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access