No One of Importance: Lesbian Mothers’ Constructions of Permanently Anonymous Sperm Donors

Abstract

The present study discusses how Swedish lesbian couples argue for their choice of permanently anonymous donors after conceiving at fertility clinics in Denmark. In a Swedish context, these women challenge both the established Swedish practice of identity-release donors and the previously common practice of lesbian mothers engaging in joint parenthood with gay fathers. Altogether 78 mothers have been interviewed. Discourse analysis show that the interviewees use two main constructions when talking about the permanently anonymous sperm donor: “the donor is not a father” and “the donor is the child’s other half”. The study shows how both these constructions serve to justify that the mothers are good parents. Central aspects in doing good parenthood is to have a close parent–child relationship, taking care of the child in everyday life and acknowledge the child’s future search for its identity.