Author(s)

Publisher

Publication Year

ISBN: 9781552453858

Categories: , , , ,

 
View more details about this title
on the publisher's website:

The Seed

Infertility Is a Feminist Issue

Notes on desire, reproduction, and grief, and how feminism doesn’t support women struggling to have children. In pop culture as much as in policy advocacy, the feminist movement has historically left infertile women out in the cold. This book traverses the chilly landscape of miscarriage, and the particular grief that accompanies the longing to make a family. Framed by her own desire for a child, journalist Alexandra Kimball brilliantly reveals the pain and loneliness of infertility, especially as a lifelong feminist. Her experience of online infertility support groups – where women gather in forums to discuss IVF, surrogacy, and isolation – leaves her longing for a real life community of women working to break down the stigma of infertility. In the tradition of Eula Biss’s On Immunity and Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-sided, Kimball marries perceptive analysis with deep reportage – her findings show the lie behind the prevailing, and at times paradoxical, cultural attitudes regarding women’s right to actively choose to have children. Braiding together feminist history, memoir, and reporting from the front lines of the battle for reproductive rights and technology, The Seed plants in readers the desire for a world where no woman is made to feel that her biology is her destiny.

Contributors

Alexandra Kimball

Alexandra Kimball is a magazine writer and editor in Toronto, and has received seven National Magazine Award nominations. Her journalism and essays appear regularly in major publications across Canada, including Chatelaine, The Walrus, Flare, and Reader's Digest . She is currently an Associate Editor at Toronto Life magazine.

Chapter Title Contents Contributors Pages Year Price

Preview

In this chapter, Kimball discusses her struggle with infertility and  existing narratives of infertile women. There is a discussion on the divide between male and female infertility and what … 10 $1.00

Preview

Kimball begins this chapter by identifying infertility as a feminist issue. She discusses historical depictions of interfile women across cultures and the idea that is unacceptable for an … 19 $1.90

Preview

This chapter starts with a discussion of women’s progress in society as it relates to the topic of infertility. She discusses the history of film and pop culture references regarding … 22 $2.20

Preview

This chapter begins with the historical beginnings of the reproductive rights movement and how these ideas have changed over time. Kimball discusses reproductive rights and feminism in relation … 26 $2.60

Preview

This chapter discusses infertile women as a consumer for practices such as IVF. Kimball recognizes the difference between a consumer of technology vs a woman first. Kimball identifies public and … 19 $1.90

Preview

In this chapter, Kimball discusses the idea of witnessing grief as a feminist act. Through understanding its complex layers, there is a discussion on grief and intersectionality as it relates to … 15 $1.50

Preview

In this chapter, Kimball details her pregnancy journey and the support she had during this time. There is discussion around humanizing women dealing with infertility and how society comprehends … 16 $1.60