Donor Sibling Networks
Donor Sibling Networks
Continuity and Change
This chapter looks across the five featured networks that span thirty years. It opens with a discussion of the historical moments in network creation and the different developmental ages of the children in these networks. The chapter highlights aspects that vary over time, such as parents’ reasons for connecting, naming conventions, and uses of technology. It then turns to an examination of the kinds of interactions within the networks (e.g., transactional and generative) and also the importance of trust and validation that participants can find in the networks. It also discusses the complex consequences network participation holds for its members within all networks. Interpersonal dynamics emerge separately among the children and their parents. Mothers and girl children are more likely to maintain each network. Further, since network membership is never fully known, attempts by the kids to establish a social order and to develop close ties are always shifting and evolving. The chapter ends with a discussion of the place of the donor in the network.
Keywords: children, group formation, technology, interaction within network, trust and validation, gender, donor, parent, random families, unprecedented family
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