ABSTRACT
In French Women's Writing: Recent Fiction, Elizabeth Fallaize aims to widen the pool of texts that are read and studied, and especially to explore texts 'which challenge traditional gender norms'. Since the 1970s, the development of new reproductive technologies and assisted procreation has had a significant impact on family patterns, family relations and motherhood in France, as elsewhere. The practices and debates surrounding assisted procreation have taken some time to enter the literary sphere, but a body of work is now emerging, which, among other things, interrogates what it means to be a mother in this new technological world. Set against these points is the position that surrogate motherhood represents exploitation, whether or not it involves a commercial arrangement. Artificial insemination is a common form of medically assisted procreation in France. It is legal, and donors of sperm remain anonymous. The law restricts access to heterosexual couples who have been cohabiting for at least two years.
