Queer Ethics, Medical Practice and the New Reproductive Landscape of Donor Eggs

Queerseminariet vid Stockholms universitet / The Seminars in Queer Studies at Stockholm University — Autumn 2026, Tema: Queert och medicinskt / Queer and medicine. Speaker: Matilda Lindgren. Language: English. Format: Zoom. What is a queer reproductive ethics in a time where donor eggs and embryos are increasingly part single, lesbian and trans people's reproductive pathways? In this talk, Matilda Lindgren explores this question by drawing on her PhD thesis Caring for Conception: The ontological politics of gamete donation practices in Sweden (2026). Building on the narratives of single and queer people with experience of donating and receiving eggs and embryos in and outside of Sweden, the paper highlights how queer reproductive practices challenge taken-for-granted mandates of medical ethics. Theoretically, the paper advances the work of medical anthropologist Anne-Marie Mol (1999; 2002; 2008) to show how non-heterosexual reproductive pathways not only changes what egg donation may become, but also, how a queer reproductive ethics may be formulated differently when understood as emerging from and within practices. Contributing to public and scholarly debates concerning reproductive rights and the increasing marketization of assisted reproduction, including the femininization of reproductive labour, the paper suggests aligning queer and feminist ethico-political concerns not with universal claims nor individual identities but with a relational, practice-based ontology that includes reproductive time. Matilda Lindgren, PhD, Affiliated Researcher at the Centre for Gender Research and the WOMHER Research School, Uppsala University is an inter-disciplinary scholar trained in Gender Studies, Global Health, SRHR and Mental Health. Registration: email elin.bengtsson@gender.su.se no later than the day before the seminar. More info: https://www.su.se/institutionen-for-etnologi-religionshistoria-och-genusvetenskap/forskning/konferenser-och-seminarier/queerseminariet-1.609109