
Wombs in Labor
Transnational Commercial Surrogacy in India
Amrita Pande(Author)
Columbia University Press
Published on 23. September 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-231-16991-2 (ISBN)
Description
Surrogacy is India's new form of outsourcing, as couples from all over the world hire Indian women to bear their children for a fraction of the cost of surrogacy elsewhere with little to no government oversight or regulation. In the first detailed ethnography of India's surrogacy industry, Amrita Pande visits clinics and hostels and speaks with surrogates and their families, clients, doctors, brokers, and hostel matrons in order to shed light on this burgeoning business and the experiences of the laborers within it. From recruitment to training to delivery, Pande's research focuses on how reproduction meets production in surrogacy and how this reflects characteristics of India's larger labor system. Pande's interviews prove surrogates are more than victims of disciplinary power, and she examines the strategies they deploy to retain control over their bodies and reproductive futures. While some women are coerced into the business by their families, others negotiate with clients and their clinics to gain access to technologies and networks otherwise closed to them. As surrogates, the women Pande meets get to know and make the most of advanced medical discoveries.
They traverse borders and straddle relationships that test the boundaries of race, class, religion, and nationality. Those who focus on the inherent inequalities of India's surrogacy industry believe the practice should be either banned or strictly regulated. Pande instead advocates for a better understanding of this complex labor market, envisioning an international model of fair-trade surrogacy founded on openness and transparency in all business, medical, and emotional exchanges.
They traverse borders and straddle relationships that test the boundaries of race, class, religion, and nationality. Those who focus on the inherent inequalities of India's surrogacy industry believe the practice should be either banned or strictly regulated. Pande instead advocates for a better understanding of this complex labor market, envisioning an international model of fair-trade surrogacy founded on openness and transparency in all business, medical, and emotional exchanges.
Reviews / Votes
Wombs in Labor is an absorbing and meticulously researched work. Amrita Pande fruitfully scrutinises the minutiae of interactions among surrogates and the community of a clinic for their underlying meaning... recommended to anyone interested in the subject of surrogacy and will please all readers. LSE Review of Books Wombs in Labor is an important book that sheds light on the workings of transnational commercial surrogacy in India... This book is a valuable read for anyone interested in commercial surrogacy, global inequality and women's labor. -- Koh Sin Yee Asian Review of Books A theoretically sophisticated and nuanced ethnography of interest to scholars in South Asian studies, women's studies, reproductive health, and labor studies. Choice At times heart-wrenching, Pande's ethnographic research provides a detailed and empathetic look at the business of India's surrogacy industry... Journal of International Womens Studies an excellent contribution to undergraduate or graduate classes on globalization, reproduction, gender, or work. -- Anna Curtis Gender and Society a fascinating look at the world of the Indian surrogate and the choice she makes in an effort to better her and her family's economic status. -- Sarah Thomas Journal of International Women's Studies Wombs in Labor is foundational. -- Rajani Bhatia Womens Review of Books Wombs in Labor is a valuable and timely contribution to the steadily increasing scholarship on assisted reproductive technologies and is a fascinating addition to the anthropology of work. Anthropology of Work ReviewMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
368 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-16991-2 (9780231169912)
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09/2014
Columbia University Press
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Person
Amrita Pande is a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on the intersection of new technologies and reproductive labor, and her writings have appeared in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Gender and Society, Critical Social Policy, International Migration Review, Qualitative Sociology, Feminist Studies, the Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Reproductive BioMedicine, and in several edited volumes. She is also an educator-performer and is currently involved in a multimedia theater performance, Made in India: Notes from a Baby Farm, which is based on her ethnographic work on surrogacy.
Content
Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Wombs in Labor 2. Pro-natal Technologies in an Anti-natal State 3. When the Fish Talk About the Water 4. Manufacturing the Perfect Mother-Worker 5. Everyday Divinities and God's Labor 6. Embodied Labor and Neo-eugenics 7. Disposable Workers and Dirty Labor 8. Disposable Mothers and Kin Labor 9. Conclusion: Aporia of Surrogacy Epilogue: Did the "Sperm on a Rickshaw" Save the Third World? Appendix A. Selected Clauses from the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Draft Bill Appendix B. Consent Form to Be Signed by Surrogates Appendix C. Descriptive Tables Notes Works Cited Index
Read the introduction: