Karin Lesnick-Oberstein: On Having an Own Child: Reproductive Technologies and the Cultural Construction of Childhood

As reproductive technologies proliferate in our society, the implications of the use of such technologies demand to be explored. Lesnick-Oberstein most thoroughly examines the concept of an “own child,” dismantling the desire for such as it has been explained biologically, socially, culturally, and historically. The author attempts to tease out meaning, questioning previous assumptions about why people want children. In her analysis, she draws from a variety of texts that address fertility/infertility and reproduction. From a philosophical and psychoanalytic framework, Lesnick-Oberstein rigorously critiques the conclusions of earlier authors, highlighting many assumptions that have been seen as unquestionable, and invoking uncertainty and questioning about almost every imaginable concept related to reproduction. In the end, she concludes that there are no firm answers: the desire for an “own child” may not be innate and fixed, yet it is real to those who perceive it and will continue to drive reproductive technology. …