Queer Reproductive Decision-Making in Saskatoon: Pandemically Complicated
| dc.contributor.advisor | Downe, Pamela | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Lawson, Karen | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Abonyi, Sylvia | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Knudson, Sarah | |
| dc.creator | Jack, Jessica | |
| dc.creator.orcid | 0009-0007-6752-8896 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-04-27T15:45:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-04-27T15:45:52Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2023 | |
| dc.date.created | 2023-04 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-04-27 | |
| dc.date.submitted | April 2023 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2023-04-27T15:45:52Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis examines how eighteen queer people living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, made their reproductive decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the twin lenses of queer theory and Cheryl Mattingly’s critical phenomenology 2.0, I have found that queer people in Saskatoon are influenced in their reproductive decision-making by meanings they have created around queer and reproductive safety, the family structures they feel are best and are supported making, and how COVID has impacted meanings of place. One-on-one remote interviews elicited three significant areas that influenced queer reproductive decision-making. The first was how queer family structures are formed, including an analysis of the nuclear family and the ways that approach does or does not work for queer families, the gendered problems queer people face when contemplating pregnancy, and the impacts of COVID-19 on how queer families are formed. The second centres on safety, with people born and raised in Saskatchewan prioritizing social safety and people born in different, sometimes less queer-supporting countries prioritizing physical safety when making reproductive decisions. The third is the relationship between COVID-19 and place, dissecting how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the meanings of place through social distancing and isolation, and how the space between places (i.e. travel, remote connection software like Zoom) has changed meaning during this pandemic, followed by how COVID-19 has specifically impacted queer peoples’ reproductive decisions. Further research on the current queer experience in the prairie provinces is needed to explore this topic, as qualitative research with queer communities in places like Saskatoon is lacking. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/14628 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.subject | medical anthropology, queer studies, reproduction, family formation, kinship, safety, norms, COVID-19 | |
| dc.title | Queer Reproductive Decision-Making in Saskatoon: Pandemically Complicated | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Archaeology and Anthropology | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Anthropology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts (M.A.) |