Infertility and Non-Traditional Family Building, 1st ed. 2019 From Assisted Reproduction to Adoption in the Media

This book examines the representation of infertility, assisted reproduction, miscarriage, adoption and surrogacy in a wide range of media, including blogs, vlogs, social media posts and factual programming. In so doing, it illustrates how pregnancy loss, involuntary childlessness and non-traditional mothering are being depicted across the media landscape. Whilst the topic of motherhood has emerged as a significant area of academic debate, narratives of unsuccessful or unconventional mothering have remained largely absent, even at a time when there is a growing conversation about infertility online. Timely, pertinent and original, the book demonstrates the importance of a broader and more informed cultural discussion about fertility and family building.

Rebecca Feasey is Senior Lecturer in Film and Media Communications at Bath Spa University, UK. She is the author of Mothers on Mothers: Maternal Readings of Popular Culture (2016), From Happy Homemaker to Desperate Housewives: Motherhood and Popular Television (2012) and Masculinity and Popular Television (2008).

Examines representations of the 'unseen' side of motherhood — infertility, assisted reproduction, miscarriage, adoption and surrogacy

Provides an introductory account of different social, sexual and medical terms as they relate to infertility, artificial insemination, miscarriage, surrogacy, fostering, adoption and abortion

Combines traditional textual analysis with an examination of ancilliary materials and personal case studies to make sense of media depictions of infertility and non-traditional maternal practices