New Kinship Practices of Lesbians in Mainland China

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This study utilises critical ethnography, feminist family theory and Kong's transnational queer sociology toinvestigate the experience of lesbian parent families in mainland China who have used or plan to use AssistedReproductive Technology (ART) to have children together. Engaging with clients and staff at two NGOs thatprovide ART counselling to lesbians (Relax LGBT Center and Rainbow Babies), I will explore reproductive decisionmaking,intergenerational interactions and parenting practices. The study will focus on three research questions:How do lesbians accessing assisted conception practise kinship in contemporary China? How do relations withextended family and friendship networks shape their fertility decisions? What are the similarities and differencesbetween this new practice and Western perspectives on ART? I will extend kinship studies and help to de-centreWestern-perspectives in the sociology of reproductive technology, lesbianism and the family.