Lesbians’ experiences and attitudes towards parenthood in Greece

Abstract

Same-sex parenthood is controversial subject. In this paper, we provide insights into the attitudes and experiences of self-reported lesbians regarding parenthood or the prospect of becoming a parent in the current Greek social and cultural context. In Greece, lesbians are not allowed access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF), while a solitary (‘single’) woman is allowed access for medical reasons. Fifty-nine (59) semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with women. What emerged from our data was a clear trend for participants to wish to have their own biological children based mostly on the belief that pregnancy would lead to a sense of self-completeness and/or fulfilment. Women also reported the negative impact of prejudice and social oppression on their reproductive autonomy. Interviewees reported that their reproductive choices were negatively influenced by their family and the wider socio-cultural environment. Even within a semi-permissive legal framework, impaired social acceptance of lesbian parenthood prohibits lesbians from becoming mothers. A major reason responsible for the positive attitude of most participants to shared biological motherhood was an altruistic attitude towards their partners.

Résumé

La parentalité chez les couples de même sexe est un sujet de controverse. Dans cet article, nous apportons un éclairage sur les attitudes et les expériences de femmes s’identifiant comme lesbiennes, concernant leur statut de parentes ou la perspective de devenir des parentes dans le contexte social et culturel grec contemporain. En Grèce, contrairement aux femmes seules (« célibataires ») qui ont accès à la fécondation in-vitro (FIV) pour raisons de santé, les lesbiennes ne bénéficient pas de ce droit. Cinquante-neuf (59) entretiens semi-structurés en profondeur ont été menés avec des femmes. Nos données ont révélé une nette tendance des participantes à souhaiter avoir leurs propres enfants biologiques, principalement en raison de la croyance selon laquelle la grossesse conduirait à des sentiments de plénitude et/ou d’accomplissement. Les femmes ont également fait part de l’impact négatif des préjugés et de l’oppression sociale vis-à-vis de leur autonomie en matière de reproduction. Elles ont rapporté que leurs choix dans ce domaine subissaient l’influence négative de leur famille et de l’environnement socioculturel général. Même dans un cadre semi-permissif légal, le faible niveau d’acceptation sociale du statut de parent pour les lesbiennes interdit à ces femmes de devenir des mères. L’une des causes principales de l’attitude positive de la plupart des participantes vis-à-vis de la maternité biologique partagée était une attitude altruiste vis-à-vis de leurs partenaires.

Resumen

La paternidad y maternidad en parejas del mismo sexo es un tema controvertido. En este artículo ofrecemos una perspectiva sobre las actitudes y experiencias de lesbianas autoidentificadas sobre su maternidad o la posibilidad de convertirse en madres en el contexto social y cultural griego de hoy día. En Grecia, las lesbianas tienen prohibido el acceso a la Fecundación in Vitro (FIV), mientras que las mujeres solteras sí que pueden acceder por motivos médicos. Para este estudio se llevaron a cabo cincuenta y nueve (59) entrevistas semiestructuradas a mujeres. De nuestros datos se desprende que las participantes claramente querían tener su propio hijo biológico basándose sobre todo en la convicción de que el embarazo las llevaría a sentirse completas y realizadas. Las mujeres también informaron sobre el efecto negativo de los prejuicios y la opresión social sobre su autonomía reproductiva. En las entrevistas informaron que sus opciones reproductivas estaban negativamente influidas por sus familias y el entorno sociocultural más amplio. Incluso con un marco legal semi tolerante, la aceptación social deficiente de la maternidad en lesbianas prohíbe que puedan convertirse en madres. Una razón de peso de la actitud positiva de la mayoría de participantes para compartir la maternidad biológica era su actitud altruista hacia sus parejas.

Keywords:

• Lesbians
• parenting
• reproductive autonomy
• shared biological motherhood
• prejudice
• Greece

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. We are also indebted to the participants who took out time to share their stories.

Notes

1. For the purposes of this study, we consider a lesbian to be a woman whose primary sexual orientation is towards the female gender or who is engaged in same-sex behaviour or relationships (romantic or sexual), regardless of sexual orientation, or who identifies as a member of a lesbian community. Further, we consider biological motherhood as being inclusive of both genetic and gestational motherhood. We consider a non-biological parent to be any person engaged in a relationship who is not biologically related to the child(ren) but who considers themselves a parent, regardless of their parental label. By co-parenting, we mean a situation in which two or more persons are engaged in a relationship with each other or living together jointly raising a child, even though they are not the child’s biological parents. Health is conceptualised as the matching of an individual’s abilities (‘qua organism’) with their goals (‘qua person’), thereby enabling an individual to actually achieve their goals (theory of ‘embedded instrumentalism’, [Richman 2004]). By reproductive autonomy we refer to the individual’s authentic and independent power to make choices relevant to reproduction, focusing, in particular, on decisions regarding whether, when, and with whom to have children. Reproductive autonomy can play a crucial role in contributing to health and well-being.