The Experience of Reproductive Suffering: An Anthropological and Sociological Approach to Social Pressure Regarding Infertility

Abstract

The problem of infertility is not only medical, but also a social, moral, and political issue. This article aims to analyze the problem of infertility from an anthropological and sociological perspective, focusing on the experiences of women and men who have undergone assisted reproductive treatments in Spain and Latin America in urban and peripheral contexts. The methodology used includes a theoretical review with an ethnographic design, as well as in-depth interviews and life histories. The findings reveal that infertility influences people's identity, altering their family relationships, their experience with their bodies, their daily routines, and their perception of social acceptance. Furthermore, it is shown that the growth in reproductive technology has created, in addition to opportunities for conception, inequalities related to social class, gender, and access to treatment. The research also shows that infertility is a form of suffering produced by society, that it manifests unequally, and that biomedical institutions play a significant role in this regard, acting as both beacons of hope and emotional marketplaces. From a social science perspective, infertility allows for the analysis of contemporary social pressures regarding the body and gender, as well as reproductive neoliberalism and current changes in family and kinship.