Semen as gift, semen as goods: reproductive workers and the market in altruism

Examines how perceptions of what semen is thought to contain affect its value as a marketable product. Explores how donor altruism, intelligence and ethnicity - traits thought to be transmitted in sperm - are perceived and transacted among representatives of the sperm banking industry, as well as among women who purchase semen for insemination and shows how the linkages between the reproductive industry and the sex industry further heighten the commodity-quality of semen donation. Argues that the emphasis placed on altruism is an attempt to redefine the commodity-quality of semen as a gift, in order to imbue it with higher emotional and moral value. (Original abstract - amended)