Cutting the cord: examining social hierarchies and public perception of “Full Surrogacy” labour industries

Abstract

Both transnational gestational surrogates (TGS) and migrant nannies are economically exploited, socially marginalised and engage in kinning beyond genetics. Yet, academically speaking, these roles were never put in comparison to one another. Previous research mainly focused on analysing self-perceptions of the two roles or examining their media framings, without much probing into audience interpretations. Hence, through semi-structured interviews with the general public, the research will analyse how the roles of TGS and migrant nannies differ/overlap and whether there is an existing social hierarchy amongst them. Furthermore, by exposing members of the public to media framings through documentaries in focus group discussions, the research will examine whether the initial social imaginaries of TGS and migrant nannies can be altered. The results of my PhD thesis will incentivise conducting further research on internal hierarchies in the care sector and demonstrate the permeability of media framings in documentaries on care labour issues.