This master’s thesis deals with commercial surrogacy from a feminist perspective. In order to be able to grasp surrogacy, we must first comprehend the construct of motherhood. Therefore, the first section section of the text deals with motherhood in the context of contemporary society and with the role of biology in the social construction of mythology. As the term “commercial surrogacy” implies, this practice consists of being paid for pregnancy and child-bearnig, which means that many women in the world, especially in “the global south” depend on it as a form of earning money. Thinking about the historically gained workers’ rights but also using concepts of new trends in labour, invented under neoliberal capitalism, I pose the question whether commercial surrogacy can be interpreted as work like any other. After discussing commercial surrogacy as “non-work” I also consider commercial surrogacy as “non-sexual” by utilizing the “whore” / “Madonna” dichotomy. Throughout the text, I am aware of the extent to which our understanding of labour, sex and gender, as well as individuals and the world, are greatly influenced by power relations between the privileged and marginalised groups of people. It cannot be overlooked that commercial surrogacy developed within specific historical circumstances and in the context of the global economic situation.
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