THINKING OF SOMETHING TO SAY: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NARRATIVES OF INFERTILITY

Autobiographical narratives of infertility are situated in both the private and public domains, particularly since the advent of assisted reproductive technology. Narratives of infertility told by 31 Australian women reveal that the tension between the public and the private is an uncomfortable one for the narrators. Infertile women must deal not only with the blow inflicted by infertility to their sense of self, but also with the difficulties of presenting a simple and coherent life story in the social world. The women expressed resentment at the public expectation that they should justify their desire to become mothers. Infertility support groups play a role in the construction and dissemination of a public narrative of infertility that is not pathological.