London's creative arts scene is notorious for its ever-changing catalogue of unique performance pieces and 'First Trimester' by Krishna Istha was no different. Staged at Battersea Arts Centre in November 2023, the project consisted of over a hundred live interviews between Istha, a trans writer and comedian, and unnamed members of the public in their quest to find a sperm donor. For such a traditionally serious topic, the event somehow managed to be simultaneously insightful and riotously funny. Istha intended to refine which qualities of a donor are truly important to them as a prospective parent and invited the public to observe the beginnings of queer family-making.
As Istha took to the stage, their warm demeanour and ethereal presence immediately set the tone for the performance. Unlike conventional sperm donation practices, First Trimester was to be an experience full of relaxation, introspection and laughter. Participants were confronted with questions ranging from the outrageously silly to deeply philosophical in a manner akin to speed-dating.
Starting off the evening on a light note, the first interviewee to be brought out on stage was asked 'What parts of your personality would you not want to pass on to a child?'. Interestingly, although they listed traits which would be considered undesirable (ie, obsessive inclinations), their response also considered the positive facets of those behaviours. Obsessivity could be conversely perceived as thoroughness and caring a tremendous amount. These remarks, in addition to their decision not to start a family because they currently lacked life stability, showed a level-headedness that I would argue usurps any concern over inheriting obsessive tendencies. Importantly, these aspects would remain hidden in traditional donor routes which primarily rely on basic characteristics such as height and occupation. In agreement with the comments of another interviewee, I find it paradoxical that such a personal experience of starting a family could otherwise be so impersonal.
Between interviews, an infomercial-style video broadcast highlighted the tribulations of starting a family as a trans person but also reaffirmed the solidarity found within the queer community. One individual arranged to be artificially inseminated at a Greek clinic but was refused last-minute as the doctors noted their passport gender was listed as male. Alone in a foreign country, they turned to the only Greek person they knew – a random lesbian they once met in a bar. Acting as fairy-godmother, she somehow summoned an army of 'queer anarchist midwives' who were able to carry out the procedure. The team also taught them to perform the procedure on themselves once back in the UK in case the insemination wasn't successful on first attempt – a heart-warming instance of valuing humanity before profit. Anecdotes such as this reinvigorate the pride I have in the queer community as we help each other navigate modern paths to parenthood.
Other interviewees were hit with similarly hard-hitting questions, including: 'What is your star sign?', 'Who is your favourite Spice Girl?' and 'Were you good at designing houses in The Sims?'. Although I expected responses to be irrelevant in scoping out a suitable sperm donor, the conversational tangents from such trivial starting points were actually rather revealing. For instance, at one point Istha chatted about never wanting their child to feel lonely. In fact, they proposed having enough children to start a rock band – much to the dismay of their partner who was half-heartedly heckling from the audience. However, the interviewee noted that having a single child would not be an issue as long as Istha has friends in the community who also had children. The initial child would not necessarily be genetically related to any future children Istha may have themselves or with their partner, and therefore why would kids in the community be considered any less than siblings?
During the performance, there was a general consensus among the audience that Istha's chemistry with the volunteers was an important step of the donor selection process. As any future children could legally seek out the donor once they are 18 years of age, their relationship with Istha may even be a pragmatic consideration. The evening was thoroughly entertaining and also made me consider what is important to me in the route to parenthood. Topics spanned the importance of financial stability in raising a child; the inaccessibility of adoption services for trans parents and the lack of racial diversity in UK sperm cryopreservation. The project, which spanned two weeks and led to 33 sperm donation offers, was thankfully recorded for an upcoming documentary and I will be keeping an eye out on Istha's social streams for when it is available.
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