Surrogacy Culture in Tehran, Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D, Student in Antropology, Department of Anthropology, Azad University’s Central Tehran Branch

2 . Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Tehran and Islamic Azad University’s Central Tehran Branch

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Islamic Azad University’s Central Tehran Branch

Abstract

Through a phenomenological approach and using the theory of functionalism, the authors of the present study have explored the lived experience of women involved in the phenomenon of surrogacy. Participants in this study were selected through visits to infertility treatment centers. Due to the high infertility rate in Iran, the extreme wealth inequality and the dominance of the male sexual order, it seems likely that we will see the rapid growth of this new method of pregnancy in Iran. The results of the study suggest that although women come to have children through this method, they do not lose the remorse of infertility. Also, women who come to have children through surrogate mothers feel that their experience of being a mother is not complete and experience a type of defective motherhood. Therefore, they take some measures to engage in nursing the surrogate mothers in order to contribute to the process of pregnancy and motherhood. In this study, we have shown how this method of having children has led to the commodification of childbearing and motherhood processes.

Keywords

References

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Women's Studies Sociological and Psychological
Volume 18, Issue 2 - Serial Number 63
October 2020
Pages 111-152

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