Infertility and Intimacy in an Online Community

Acknowledgements......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
 Journey to the Other Side......Page 9
 Infertility and Its Impact on Sufferers......Page 11
 The Cost of Reproductive Technology......Page 12
 Why the Experiences of Women?......Page 18
 A Feminist Approach to Infertility......Page 20
 Re-imagining Community for the Online World......Page 24
 Offline Lives, Online Worlds......Page 25
 About the Study......Page 27
 Stronger Together......Page 28
 The Voice Behind the Mask......Page 30
 Shape of the Book......Page 31
 References......Page 34
 Introduction......Page 37
 The Birth of Support Groups......Page 40
 Therapy Culture and the “Emotionalisation” of Society......Page 41
 Key Debates in the Research Literature on Online Support Groups......Page 43
 The Empowering Effects of OSG Participation......Page 46
 Characteristics and Benefits of Online Support Groups......Page 51
  Asynchronous Communication......Page 52
  Invisibility and Anonymity......Page 54
  Text-Based Communication......Page 58
 The Significance of Social Support......Page 59
 References......Page 65
3: Finding Support in the Online World......Page 71
 Changes to Intimacy in the Twenty-First Century......Page 72
 Information Seeking......Page 75
 Venting......Page 78
 Grief......Page 80
 Building Intimacy and Copresence in Stronger Together......Page 81
 The Importance of Anonymity in the Online World......Page 84
 Being Friends Off and Online......Page 87
 Conclusion......Page 89
 References......Page 90
 Introduction......Page 92
 Positive Thinking......Page 95
  The Imperative of Positive Thinking......Page 99
  The “Dark Side” of Positive Thinking......Page 101
 Disciplining the Body (and the Mind)......Page 107
 Existential Anxiety and Questions of Identity: Who Am I Now?......Page 116
 Conclusion......Page 122
 References......Page 123
 Introduction......Page 127
  Mothers......Page 133
  Mothers’ Day......Page 135
 Pregnant Others Amongst Friends and Colleagues......Page 138
 Undeserving Pregnant Others and Moral Outrage......Page 145
 Conclusion......Page 148
 References......Page 149
 Introduction......Page 151
 Relational Uncertainty, Partner Interference and Boundary Turbulence......Page 152
 Feeling Supported......Page 154
 When Support Fails......Page 157
 Loss of Spontaneity and Pleasure in the Couple Relationship......Page 162
 Protecting from Disappointment and Judgement......Page 166
 Conclusion......Page 168
 References......Page 169
 In Closing......Page 172
 Relationships in the Infertile World......Page 174
 A Refuge from the Storm: Online Support Groups......Page 182
 Infertility OSGs and Implications for Professional Therapeutic Practice......Page 184
 Researching into the Future......Page 186
 Conclusion......Page 187
 References......Page 188
Appendix A: Codes Used in Analysis of Journals and Posts......Page 190
Appendix B: Common Abbreviations Used on Stronger Together Site......Page 196
References......Page 200
Index......Page 213