ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to contribute insights into the subjectivities of lesbian non-birth mothers in the specific context of twenty-first-century France. The issue of lesbian mothering in France is particularly topical in the wake of the 'marriage-for-all' legislation of 2013, which enabled same-sex couples to marry and adopt children for the first time. The chapter discusses two main issues. First it describes the French situation in relation to the new law, since it creates new legal contexts in which lesbian women mother and are considered to be parents. Second the chapter focuses on the three chosen narratives, drawing on sociological and ethnographical research on lesbian mothers, in order to reflect in particular on how gendered codes, roles, and language impact on the practice of lesbian mothering, and vice versa – that is, how lesbian mothering can interrogate normative patterns and raise questions about who or what a mother – or father – actually is.
