Bargaining With ‘Reproductive Capital’: Multilayered Stratified Reproduction in the Case of Taiwanese Gay Men Seeking Transnational Surrogacy

Scholars in the field of social studies of reproduction have recently turned their attention to the booming cross-border reproductive industry. In the case of gay men seeking donor ova and surrogacy to become fathers, there are issues of uneven accessibility and disparity between privileged intended gay fathers and comparatively less affluent women who offer reproductive labour. Despite being the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, Taiwan still holds back on LGBTQ+ reproductive rights. This compels intended queer parents to travel abroad for assisted reproduction. This article draws on 53 in-depth interviews with Taiwanese gay men seeking transnational surrogacy. Adopting a Bourdieusian perspective, I examine how they 'bargained with' economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital to achieve reproductive goals at the intersections of sexuality, nationality, race and sociolegal constraints. When it comes to multilayered stratified reproduction, my findings highlight disparities between (1) heterosexuals and LGBTQ+ people, (2) intended gay fathers and (3) gay fathers and surrogates. This article enriches our understanding of stratified reproduction, transnational surrogacy and queer reproductive justice by introducing the concept of 'reproductive capital' that was strategically accumulated and mobilised by gay fathers in order to navigate the complex multilayered reproductive stratifications in transnational reproduction.