Cyborg Conception
Description
This book considers the growing popularity of solo motherhood via gamete donation and how this type of "cyborg conception" is narrated in medicine, bioethics, fiction, and memoir. It identifies solo mothers as radical women who exist in a space beyond binarity (male/female dual-rearing dynamic) and heteronormative discourse; solo mothers represent, among other diverse family constructions (such as same-sex couples and throuples), a critical intervention in the dominant narrative of the nuclear family which defines the "ideal" reproductive model. This book combines memoir and scholarly research to present a deeply nuanced and rigorous overview of the solo motherhood phenomenon.
Reviews / Votes
"The book positively contributes to the debate about solo mothers by choice via gamete donation. By blending personal experiences with explorations of fiction, it enriches the existing literature on SMBC and provides unique insights into cyborg conception. As a result, this book is highly recommended to scholars studying feminism, family studies, parenthood, and a broad audience beyond academia, including but not limited to solo mothers and anyone interested in non-traditional reproduction." (Jinshuo Liu, Medical Law International, February 6, 2025)
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Person
Grace Halden is a Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK. She specialises in reproductive health, reproductive technologies, assisted reproduction (IUI and IVF), donor conception, and bioethics. Her work is interdisciplinary and sits in the juncture between literary studies and medical humanities. Grace is also a solo mother by choice and a professional member of the Donor Conception Network (DCN). She has won several funding grants for her donor conception work (two funded by the Wellcome Institute) and is published widely in the field.
Content
1. Introduction: Cyborg Conception.- 2. Involuntary Childlessness: Fertility Clinics and the Disadvantaged Solo Mother.- 3. Selfishly Single? Bioethics and the Solo Mother.- 4. Radical or Reckless? Fiction and the Solo Mother.- 5. By Choice: Lived Experience and Memoir.- 6. Conclusion: Choosing to be Solo not Single: Why Language Matters.