Inventing the Donor / Inventing the Self
Inventing the Donor / Inventing the Self
This chapter describes how children begin to understand the meaning of donor conception to make sense of the hollow concept of a donor. It explores how children of different ages imagine the sperm donor. Sex education in schools and conversations with other children become factors in their understanding. As children invent the donor from the bits and pieces of information available, they also try to figure out which parts of themselves came from the donor; they thus invent the self. Siblings who live in the same home can help children figure out who the donor is and what he has contributed. During adolescence children use the donor to help in the processes of separation and self-assessment. The chapter considers the following questions: How do children go beyond a birth narrative to understand themselves? How do their parents help them understand that some aspects of the self might come from a stranger?
Keywords: sperm donor, donor conception, adolescence, children, separation from parent, self-assessment, identity, birth story, school friend, reproduction
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