The Semiotics of Parenthood in India: A Lived Experience

Abstract

This paper interrogates the semiotics of parenthood based on autoethnography and the understanding of such personal experiences from the standpoint of a participant observer. It attempts to revisit the assumptions regarding parenthood/reproduction from the perspectives of the Hindu family, society and the state. Despite the changes ushered in by industrialisation and a rapidly globalising economy, children in the Indian context (especially sons) are still considered a source of social security, ensuring the continuity of the family, caste, lineage and even of social prestige. Increasingly, modern medicine is a willing ally in playing with women’s bodies to confer parenthood. Further, the paper questions the legal requirements laid down by the Indian state prescribing certain procedures, whereby parenthood is conferred on individuals through adoption. This paper argues that there exists a dialectical relationship between culture, medical technology and the state machinery to complicate the experience of parenthood.