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Paper short abstract

This study explores how 20 Chinese lesbian families navigate household labor, childcare, and transnational IVF. It highlights relational strategies, negotiation, and creative practices that sustain queer kinship and care under legal, social, and cultural constraints in contemporary China.

Paper long abstract

In contexts where LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive technologies are restricted, Chinese lesbian families face unique challenges in building and sustaining households. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 20 lesbian-headed families across urban China, this study examines the negotiation of domestic labor and childcare alongside cross-border reproductive strategies. Findings reveal that care and household responsibilities are organized flexibly rather than according to fixed gender roles, following a pragmatic logic of “whoever notices, does it.” Some families rely on parental support or paid caregivers, while others navigate parenthood independently, highlighting the interplay between relational resources and household autonomy. Cross-border assisted reproduction further shapes family practices, requiring complex planning, negotiation, and adaptation to regulatory and social constraints. These micro-level practices illuminate how marginalized families construct kinship, distribute labor, and sustain reproductive ambitions without formal institutional recognition. By focusing on relational and temporal strategies of care, the study contributes to understanding the creative, future-oriented dimensions of queer family life in East Asia. This research situates Chinese lesbian families’ domestic and reproductive strategies within broader discussions of technoscience, kinship, and social inequality, demonstrating the interplay between individual agency, family negotiation, and systemic constraints.

Keywords (5):

Chinese Lesbian Families; Kinship Negotiation; Domestic Labor; Cross-Border Reproduction; Queer Family Futures