‘I Think I Stick Out a Bit’: The Classification of Reproductive Decision-Making

Abstract

This article provides an empirical insight into the operation of neoliberal, postfeminist, and middle-class norms which intersect to classify reproduction as imperative for some women, while for ‘others’ it is classified as inappropriate and in need of regulation. This valuation constructs an idealized reproductive citizen and a hierarchy of decisions about having children, while the inequalities and different material conditions that structure reproductive decisions and trajectories are ignored. This article will therefore demonstrate how the middle-class, neoliberal, and postfeminist subject of value operates in relation to reproduction in a social, political, and gendered context that emphasizes choice, individual responsibility, and self-investment and future planning. However, evidence of resistance to classification will also be shown, which provides an insight into how this valued reproductive citizen is negotiated.

COVID-19 and Abortion: Making Structural Violence Visible

“…A focus on individual responsibility draws on structures that privilege ableism, classism, sexism and racism in determining abortion trajectory acceptability. 43 As well as womxn's own abortion decision making, such constructions are re-enacted in interactions with health care workers, who utilize and reinforce gender norms, and burden womxn with the emotional and physical labor of (preventing) reproduction. 44 For example, Saunders' exploration of working-class mothers' reproductive experiences in Glasgow, Scotland, demonstrates how individualization is a defining feature of reproductive decision making.…”

“…44 For example, Saunders' exploration of working-class mothers' reproductive experiences in Glasgow, Scotland, demonstrates how individualization is a defining feature of reproductive decision making. 43 Doctors-while expressing discomfort around later gestation abortions-justify them for younger pregnant people living in deprivation, treating them differently than older and more educated womxn who are considered "valued" reproductive citizens. This individualization and "responsibilization" 45 rhetoric is also evident in how "othered" persons (e.g., Indigenous and Two-Spirit persons, 46 sex workers, 47 trans and nonbinary persons, 48 migrants 49 and those living with HIV/AIDS 50 ) are treated by structures that replicate violent institutions of reproductive discrimination.…”

“…Abortion policies are embedded in historic, 65 colonial, 85 supremacist and eugenicist structures, 86 which have sought to control some womxn's reproduction more than others. 43,87,88 For structural violence to be a useful concept, it must be able to move beyond description and make these structures visible.…”

“Potential parenthood” and identity threats: Navigating complex fertility journeys alongside work and employment

“…Pregnancy has been described as a form of organising 'project' (Brewis and Warren, 2001), and more generally social science scholarship has focused on the 'right' subjective identities and the 'right time' to start a family (e.g. Saunders, 2020;Zeno, 2020). However, demographic trends are increasingly raising questions around the choice and its implications.…”

Researching relationality: Reflections on the use of concept cards during in-depth interviews

“…Chiara's use of the cards presents the relationship between reproduction; others; cultural norms; and neoliberal economic policies and logics that construct the notion only those who can financially afford to have children should do so (Saunders, 2020). This calls into question the individualization of reproductive decisions as we see the interweaving of politics, culture, and intimate relations in Chiara's account as she unpacks her feelings and concerns about the future.…”