Reproductive Processes Through the Lens of Gender

This dissertation examines the gendered repercussions of reproductive processes on the individuals' life course. In so doing, it provides empirical applications on the interaction between reproductive processes and the gender structure which manifests itself at three distinct levels; macro, interactional, individual. The first chapter exemplifies of how gender structure operates as a pro-natalist policy at the macro level through investigating the impact of Romanian abortion ban on the next generation's life-course transitions. The second chapter focuses on the interactional level of the gender structure by emphasizing how the effect of societal and familial expectations on giving birth to a son, in short "son preference", on fertility dynamics have evolved across different generations in Turkey. Lastly, the third chapter speaks to the individual level of gender structure through its focus on motherhood identity, or lack thereof, through exploring whether undergoing medically assisted reproduction is associated with stronger loneliness experience during the pregnancy seeking period due to increasing perceived social pressure on childbearing and stigma surrounding infertility. The findings of this research imply that the interplay between reproduction and gender structure has substantial consequences on demography, health, and in general on the life course of individuals.