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Paper short abstract

This research highlights both the structural constraints and the agentive strategies of lesbian couples in China. It shows how reproductive technologies become tools for resistance, recognition, and the creative construction of diverse family models.

Paper long abstract

As China’s population policy shifts from fertility control to encouragement, reproductive support remains constrained by traditional familism and heteronormativity, restricting assisted reproductive technology to married heterosexual couples. Consequently, Chinese lesbians navigate these structural barriers by seeking services abroad, utilizing underground markets, or opting for home insemination. This study, based on semi-structured interviews with 12 lesbian couples and an analysis of relevant policy texts, explores their negotiations over “who will carry the baby or contribute the eggs”, the symbolic construction of kinship, and their lived kinship practices. Findings reveal that the factors considered by lesbian couples in deciding who carries the baby or contributes eggs extend beyond health, personal preference, or household registration. They also deeply involve the dynamics of the partnership and the construction of the child's connection to their natal family. Creative strategies, such as “ROPA (Reception of Oocytes from Partner)”, serve both personal and political purposes, legitimizing queer family forms under restrictive conditions. Lesbian families reconfigure kinship through emotional bonds, shared parenting, and counter-normative practices, partially challenging patrilineal legitimacy discourses. Their reproductive practices reflect a hybridization of technology, culture, and society, reshaping notions of motherhood, kinship, and gender identity. By integrating feminist and queer perspectives, this research highlights both the structural constraints and the agentive strategies of lesbian couples in China. It shows how reproductive technologies become tools for resistance, recognition, and the creative construction of diverse family models.