"It's Just Who I Am ... I Have Brown Hair. I Have a Mysterious Father": An Exploration of Donor-Conceived Offspring's Identity Construction

The purpose of the present study was to explore the communication and identity-related experiences of members of donor-conceived families. Guided by the theory of symbolic interactionism and a constitutive view of communication, the present study sought to understand the ways in which anonymous sper...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family communication 2015-01, Vol.15 (1), p.75-93
Main Authors: Harrigan, Meredith Marko, Dieter, Sarah, Leinwohl, Jenna, Marrin, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Communication
Families & family life
Fathers
Identity
Internet
Phenomenology
Social interaction
Sperm donations
Symbolic Interactionism
Victims
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Summary:The purpose of the present study was to explore the communication and identity-related experiences of members of donor-conceived families. Guided by the theory of symbolic interactionism and a constitutive view of communication, the present study sought to understand the ways in which anonymous sperm donor-conceived offspring (DCO) make sense of their experiences and communicatively construct their identities. In-depth interviews with 14 adult DCO and 24 online postings by DCO about their experiences being donor-conceived were inductively analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2011). The following five identity constructions were identified: (a) victims, (b) wanted children, (c) enigmatic, (d) storytellers, and (e) processes. The findings capture the multiplicity and complexity of DCO's communication and identity processes.
ISSN:1526-7431
1532-7698
DOI:10.1080/15267431.2014.980823