Description
Zooming in on commercial surrogacy in Russia and Ukraine, Intimate Strangers addresses market expansion into the intimate spheres of life that play out on women's bodies as mothers and workers. Veronika Siegl follows the inner workings of a surrogacy market marked by secrecy, distrust, and anonymous business relationships. She explores intended mothers' anxious struggles for a child in light of stigmatized infertility and the aggressive biopolitics of motherhood; the uncertain but pragmatic pathways in and out of fertility clinics as surrogates navigate harsh economic realities and resist being objectified or morally judged; and the powerful role of agents and doctors who have found a profitable niche in nurturing and facilitating other people's existential hopes. Intimate Strangers discusses these issues against the backdrop of ultra-conservatism and moral governance in Russia, the rising international popularity of the Ukrainian surrogacy market, and the pervasiveness of neo-liberal ideologies and individualized notions of reproductive freedom.
Author: Veronika Siegl
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 07/15/2023
Pages: 306
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d
ISBN13: 9781501771316
ISBN10: 1501771310
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Anthropology | Physical
- Medical | Nursing | Maternity, Perinatal, Women's Health
- History | Russia | General
About the Author
Veronika Siegl is Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna, and Associated Researcher at the Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern. She has published articles in journals such as the Anthropological Journal of European Studies and Curare, and is co-editor of the photo-text-book Hope.