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none45's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Intro into this topic! Intéressant! Didn't fully get everything oopi
oatcappuccino's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
3.5
- the analysis of surrogacy as a proletarian issue is very sharp and even-handed.
- other things i did not connect with so much, like the universilation and mystification of the word queer by using it to describe, of all things, pregnancy
- the final two chapters depart from materialist analysis into an exploration of cultural ideals of motherhood, or waxing poetic abt the role of water in gestation. i did not find this very compelling and in fact found the numerous descriptions of infanticide and abuse and murder very distressing to read.
- i would have enjoyed the book more if it had upset me less. 🤷🏻♂️ ymmv.
📝 philanthrocapitalism; eugenics; fertility tourism; gestation; circlusion; genetic determinism; transhumanism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Medical content, and Medical trauma
hounded's review against another edition
4.0
I have rarely found a book where I agree with everything! This was incredibly informative and I feel I have such a solid footing to discuss this topic now.
Plus it helps that the author is not only informative but also makes it very accessible! Plus I was surprised to actually laugh at some of the humor in this book! I know hard to believe there would be humor in this but there was and it was good!
Good messages and good writing made this the exact kind of book an important one! And one that I am going to make many other people pick up
Plus it helps that the author is not only informative but also makes it very accessible! Plus I was surprised to actually laugh at some of the humor in this book! I know hard to believe there would be humor in this but there was and it was good!
Good messages and good writing made this the exact kind of book an important one! And one that I am going to make many other people pick up
sturgeonfish's review against another edition
4.75
amazing and extremely eye opening, really made me think of surrogacy in new ways. i love how she imagined both a reproductive utopia where work was abolished and this was not a paid and exploitative labor, but also put forth arguments for decriminalization and ways that this practice needs to be dignified and paid in the capitalist here-and-now we live in and she always emphasized the autonomy of the workers. all in all i was so so pleasantly surprised with how radical this book was and how the author considered trans people in more than just passing as well as communities of color and working people.
would really really recommend for anyone especially marxist feminists who are unsure how to feel or articulate their feelings on surrogacy and gestational labor.
i do wish she would've focused more on clinics besides the akanksha infertility clinic, which took up a looot of this book. she brushed on usamerican military wives who surrogate for people and the difference in attitudes between these women and women in india in terms of why they do this line of work, but mostly the real world examples were all about the akanksha infertility clinic.
also, despite being an academic, the author wrote this in a relatively easy to follow, accessible way. rather than feeling like a conversation only with other academics and jargony papers, it felt like a work she wanted everyone to read :)
would really really recommend for anyone especially marxist feminists who are unsure how to feel or articulate their feelings on surrogacy and gestational labor.
i do wish she would've focused more on clinics besides the akanksha infertility clinic, which took up a looot of this book. she brushed on usamerican military wives who surrogate for people and the difference in attitudes between these women and women in india in terms of why they do this line of work, but mostly the real world examples were all about the akanksha infertility clinic.
also, despite being an academic, the author wrote this in a relatively easy to follow, accessible way. rather than feeling like a conversation only with other academics and jargony papers, it felt like a work she wanted everyone to read :)
slimecomet's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
atomic_tourist's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Lots of original ideas here! Imo Lewis should have expanded her scope. She states that Full Surrogacy Now is not a case study, right before delving into a case study of the Akanksha Infertility Clinic, which takes up a solid 2/3 of the book... Meanwhile, I found myself wanting to see Lewis's analysis of other 'infertility clinics' both in India and globally.
The call for Full Surrogacy was likewise stunted. It's a powerful notion but Lewis didn't present much beyond a philosophical ideal. What would this look like in practice? (In praxis?) How do we expand our understandings of what it means to 'mother'? How do we support laborers (as in, those going into labor) of all types, be they typical surrogates or not? What will taking down and rebuilding the idea of a 'family' look like across the world? Lewis poses these questions but doesn't give many concrete answers.
I leave this work feeling curious to see what else is out there on surrogacy and family abolition. Kudos to Lewis for setting up some big ideas - now I have to hunt for details to fill in the blanks.
The call for Full Surrogacy was likewise stunted. It's a powerful notion but Lewis didn't present much beyond a philosophical ideal. What would this look like in practice? (In praxis?) How do we expand our understandings of what it means to 'mother'? How do we support laborers (as in, those going into labor) of all types, be they typical surrogates or not? What will taking down and rebuilding the idea of a 'family' look like across the world? Lewis poses these questions but doesn't give many concrete answers.
I leave this work feeling curious to see what else is out there on surrogacy and family abolition. Kudos to Lewis for setting up some big ideas - now I have to hunt for details to fill in the blanks.