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Call for Papers - Queer Fertility Journeys
As my partner and I embarked upon our journey of trying to become parents,
I devoured every last bit of information that examines and explores LGBT families, pregnancy and adoption. Although there
are now some wonderful books on the market about these topics, I was left hungering for something different. I wanted to
read about and find comfort and inspiration in others’ experiences about the fertility journey itself - the time before we
become queer families, when we are still making plans and dreaming our families into existence.
The time between
deciding to grow our families and actually becoming parents is a time fraught with complicated emotions and experiences –
it can be simultaneously exhilarating, sorrowful, anxiety-producing, isolating and enriching – it can shift our conceptualizations
of who we are, how we think about ourselves and the world around us. Yet, in our haste become parents, I believe that we
often ignore the significance of this very “fertile” time in our lives.
To this end, I am putting out a call for
proposals for essays about people’s experiences with the queer fertility journey. It is my hope that these submissions will
eventually be compiled into an edited anthology for publication. Essays may be academic, personal stories and/or both, but
all must be written for a general reading audience.
There is of course, no one “fertility journey” for lesbians,
gay men, bisexual and transgendered people. It is my hope that this anthology will create a pastiche of diverse queer experiences,
and help to fill in the gaps for others in our communit(ies) who hunger for the same kinds of information that I have sought.
G How does this time of “waiting” to become parents impact us?
G How does our identity shift in the time between
deciding to try to create a family and actually becoming parents?
G How has the fertility journey shifted our relationships
with partners, family, the world around us?
G How have we experienced and been impacted by homophobia and discrimination?
G
How are our choices about how to become parents constrained by our gender orientation, sexual orientation, relationship status,
socio-economic status?
G What are the ups and downs of deciding how to become parents (using known/unknown donors, surrogates,
adoption, fostering)?
G How do we as queer people navigate finding donors and surrogates and finding our way through
adoption and foster care systems?
G In the case of donor insemination (or IVF), how does the journey differently impact
upon carrying and non-carrying partners?
G How does the experience of miscarriage impact queer people and might this be
different than how straight people experience miscarriage? (For example, how are gay men who use a surrogate impacted if
their surrogate miscarries?)
G What are the experiences of lesbians who are struggling with infertility?
The above
questions are meant as examples of possible angles of inquiry. I welcome submissions on any and all topics relating to this
period in the queer fertility journey.
I look forward to receiving and reading your submissions. Those whose proposals
are accepted will be invited to write and submit essays for consideration for publication.
Along with your submissions,
please include a separate piece of paper with your contact information, including email.
Please send proposals for
essays to:
Email: tpinterics@hotmail.com
Deadline for proposals: February 28th, 2006
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