Taiwanese Gay Fathers’ Queer Family Making: Toward a Temporal-Relational Path

Abstract

Based on 53 in-depth interviews, this article examines the tension between heteronormative timeframes and queer temporalities by exploring how time and relationships were navigated in gay fathers’ reproductive journeys. The right time for reproduction is individually sensed and socially constructed. Relationships facilitate people’s perception of reproductive time. Time and relationships are significant themes in reproduction; however, there is a lack of empirical research engaging with both. This article explores the intricate and dynamic process of how gay fathers responded to heteronormative temporal norms by transforming their reproductive aspirations into reproductive plans. Considering the legal constraints, the only accessible way for Taiwanese gay men to have biologically related children is through transnational reproductive technologies, donor eggs, and surrogacy. The expense intensifies the need for relational support from partners and families-of-origin. The findings show four ‘temporal-relational paths’: chronological-normative, partner-bonded, individual-oriented, and family-motivated toward parenthood. I argue for a more nuanced understanding of gay fathers’ reproductive decision-making beyond the dichotomy of heteronormative repro-timeline and queer anti-family-making temporality by elucidating how gay fathers employed ‘queer temporal repro-agency’ to make families. Toward a temporal-relational path, this article attempts to inspire and call out for future research on practices of queer reproduction in a heteronormative timeframe.