Gay Men Pursuing Parenthood through Surrogacy

Book excerpt: Dean Murphy analyses how relatedness is enacted in the context of gay men pursuing parenthood and a ‘child of one’s own’ through both domestic and transnational surrogacy arrangements. Drawing on data collected from in-depth interviews with gay men living in Australia and the United States, and news media, the book explores how gay men ‘enact’ parenthood and family life in ways that both challenge and reinforce dominant notions of kinship and masculinity. These men represent an important first generation to access assisted reproductive technologies for this purpose and are part of an increasing proportion of gay men becoming parents outside a (previous) heterosexual relationship. The findings demonstrate that men come to experience parenthood desire largely because of the new narratives and opportunities being made available to them today.