Reproductive privilege is a form of

social privilege Social privilege is an advantage or entitlement that benefits individuals belonging to certain groups, often to the detriment of others. Privileged groups can be advantaged based on social class, wealth, education, caste, age, height, skin col ...

that describes people who have been able to regenerate themselves biologically and produce new generations with an unremarkable level of difficulty. People with a reproductive disadvantage (including those with infertility, recurrent miscarriages, involuntary childlessness, or other forms of

reproductive loss Reproductive loss, sometimes reproductive disappointment or reproductive grief, describes a potential emotional response to unsuccessful attempts at human reproduction or family-building. These experienced losses may include involuntary childlessn ...

or lack) use the term in reference to the variant levels of ease or difficulty with which people can become/stay pregnant and carry to term (if female) or father a living child (if male). The concept of reproductive difference is controversial and discussion of reproductive privilege is fraught with the social and sociological conflicts that are common to public discourse about children and families. The concept of reproductive privilege, like the related concept of

ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against physically or mentally disabled people. Ableism characterizes people as they a ...

, identifies a human capacity that many take for granted but that is not universally accessible. Reproduction is limited to people with certain bodies, at certain times of their lives, usually with certain baseline levels of physical and mental health. In addition, reproductive behaviors have traditionally occurred within a certain social and economic framework that may be inaccessible to some people for any number of reasons. A stereotypical post-menopausal 19th century spinster who still yearns for children might see a young and beautiful bride as having "reproductive privilege" in that she has an opportunity for and strong likelihood of reproduction. Heterosexual couples have a reproductive advantage over homosexual couples. An infertile couple that successfully adopted arguably has two forms of reproductive privilege, one compared to the biological parents who were not financially or emotionally equipped to raise an infant to adulthood, and two, to other adoption-seeking parents who have not been able to successfully arrange an adoption. While the most common use of ''reproductive privilege'' is in regards to fertility versus infertility, it can also describe the comfort of a privileged ignorance of miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death. In the words of one writer, "If people talking about their grief, their loss, their lack makes you feel uncomfortable and defensive: well, that’s privilege...You're entitled to your happiness. Just as we are entitled not to censor our sadness." Opponents of the concept argue that it commodifies children.

References

{{Reflist Human reproduction Kinship and descent Social privilege Feminist terminology Identity politics Majority–minority relations

See also

References