We are family: Taiwanese gay fathers’ strategic normalisationdecision-making in transnational reproduction

Taiwanese gay men have been seeking transnational assisted reproductive technologies and surrogacy to become fathers. Due to legal restrictions in Taiwan, overseas reproduction is the only legal way for them to have children. This study explores gay fathers’ reproductive strategies and rationales. The data came from in-depth interviews with 53 gay fathers and participant observation with an LGBTQ + family association. I analysed data thematically with the sociological approach ‘reproduction as a lens’ to elucidate how social norms influence gay men’s reproductive perceptions and practices and what social changes they brought to the understanding of family-making. The results show that gay fathers were aware of the ideal family model in heteronormative society, and they established strategies to justify their decision-making and make sense of their family-making. They shaped their gay fatherhood by affirming their decision to use third-party reproduction, deciding who would be the sperm provider, and selecting ovum donors with specific attributes. They also reconsidered the meaning of relatedness by embodying innovative ways of making kinship. This article argues that Taiwanese gay men became fathers through the dynamic processes of ‘strategic normalisation’ and ‘selective differentiation’, which secured their social acceptance and demonstrated diverse pathways of queer family-making.

这项研究主要探讨了台湾同性恋父亲如何通过跨国辅助生殖技术和代孕来实现父亲身份的过程。研究聚焦于这些父亲在生育决策中所采取的策略，包括选择代孕目的地、决定精子提供者、选择卵子捐赠者，以及如何定位代孕者和卵子捐赠者在家庭中的角色。

（基本同上） 研究者在2021年至2023年期间进行了超过40次的线下和线上参与式观察，包括参加育儿工作坊、生殖研讨会和支持小组活动。研究对象包括53位同性恋父亲，其中22位已经成为父亲，31位正在计划成为父亲。研究者对这些父亲进行了深度访谈，每次访谈平均持续91分钟。受访者大多具有高等教育背景，属于中产或中上阶级，年龄范围从30多岁到50多岁不等。

这项研究的主要发现是，台湾同性恋父亲通过“策略性正常化”（Strategical normalisation）和“选择性差异化”（Selective differentiation）的动态过程来实现和合理化他们的父亲身份。他们一方面强调生物遗传联系来使自己的家庭形式“正常化”，以符合社会对传统家庭的期望；另一方面，他们也通过选择特定种族背景的卵子捐赠者和重新定义家庭关系来突出自己家庭的独特性。研究发现，这些父亲在选择代孕目的地、决定精子提供者、选择卵子捐赠者以及定位代孕者和卵子捐赠者在家庭中的角色等方面都采取了复杂的策略。这一过程既挑战了异性恋父权制的生育脚本，又在某种程度上重新强化了生物遗传和家族延续的传统观念。 研究结论指出，这种策略既为同性恋父亲家庭争取社会认可，又展示了酷儿家庭构建的多元路径。