This thesis investigates how norms regarding good parenting and ideas about the best interest of the child interact with race and whiteness. It explores different themes found in the main government report (SOU) conducted by the state appointed committee (Inseminationsutredningen) in a qualitative discourse analysis. The focus has been to discern how race and whiteness is presented through its non-disclosure in the material. The main body of theory consists of work surrounding critical race theory, critical adoption studies, parenting as white privilege, discourse analysis and critical studies of Swedish reproductive politics. This thesis sets out to investigate how the report discusses race, but also how whiteness is constructed in relation to parenting. The general conclusion is that the reports reluctance to talk about race and the analogy with adoption both helped establish a view on insemination as a practice for white parents. Since the report repeatedly said that insemination could not be viewed as a human right, it would imply that only those best qualified would be entitled to insemination. The vagueness of the criteria put forth by the report, indicates that not all people will have the same ability to qualify as parents, since parents with immigration background often are seen as less adequate parents, because of their lack of Swedishness. While the report does in fact not deny people of non-Swedish status access to insemination, this thesis shows that ideas about who can be viewed as both Swedish and adequate parents are closely related to race and whiteness. Combined with the reluctance to mention race and how the analogy with adoption positioned the insemination couple as white, I suggest whiteness can be viewed as an unspoken criteria, an invisible hurdle that only non-white Swedes will encounter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-231249 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Fermin, Saga |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Genusvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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