Written by Chia-Yun Lee.
Image credit: Test Tube in Lab by Daniel Foster/ Flickr, license: CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED.
The term “egg freezing” refers to the process of retrieving eggs from a woman’s body and freezing them to extend their shelf life. When a woman desires or her health permits reproduction, the frozen eggs can be thawed and used in the fertilisation and pregnancy process. Since 2020, egg freezing has received widespread attention in Taiwan because of mainstream media coverage, including numerous YouTube videos sharing personal experiences and the TV series “Mother to Be.” Egg freezing is more than just a scientific technology. A deeper exploration into why women choose to freeze their eggs reveals significant social implications, which must be examined from a gender perspective. On one hand, proponents often argue that this technology grants women greater flexibility and autonomy over their reproductive timing. On the other hand, the medicalisation and commercialisation of reproduction could intensify existing social inequalities. Furthermore, the reasons women opt for egg freezing often stem from deep-rooted expectations about gender roles.
By examining the marketing narratives in fertility clinics, social media, and mainstream online media, this article explores the discourse surrounding egg-freezing technology in Taiwan. Particularly in advertisements by fertility centres, egg freezing is often portrayed as a form of insurance and empowerment. This technology is framed as a new opportunity for women, offering a way to manage the risks of infertility and transcend the limits of time. Moreover, mainstream news media often emphasises the connection between egg freezing and fulfilling motherhood, celebrating the sacrifices and bravery of motherhood while reinforcing the heterosexual social expectations of women’s roles. In evaluating the widespread popularity of both narratives in Taiwan, it becomes apparent that these discourses are embedded in existing gender norms, making egg freezing a technology that personalises women’s infertility risks. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the persistent inequalities women face in their reproductive roles, such as rigid societal expectations and unequal division of childcare responsibilities. By doing so, we can better understand the complex interplay between technological advancements in reproductive medicine and their socio-legal implications in Taiwan.
Egg Freezing as Personal Insurance
Since the development of reproductive medicine in Taiwan during the 1990s, nearly one hundred specialised fertility centres have been established across the country. Within these commercial fertility centres, some particularly specialise in promoting egg-freezing technology. They collaborate with YouTubers and female celebrities to produce videos and text advertisements, aiming to draw women’s attention to and engagement with egg freezing. On the website of a prominent reproductive medicine centre, the egg-freezing advertisement slogan states, “Freezing eggs doesn’t necessarily mean wanting children.” This slogan conveys various social implications of egg freezing. But before analysing the meaning of this slogan, we must first understand which audience the advertisement targets. Why do women in Taiwan consider egg freezing?
After systematically analysing discussions on multiple mainstream social media platforms—including Facebook, Threads, and Dcard—centred around the topic of egg freezing, I found that most discussions revolve around “risk management” and “future planning.” For example, one reason for freezing eggs, such as “avoiding higher costs and more mental and physical efforts in the future,” implies a desire to sidestep the challenges and expenses of conceiving later. Another reason, such as “wanting more time to find a suitable partner for dating and marriage,” suggests the current difficulty in finding a partner willing to start a family and raise children together, hence leading to the decision to freeze eggs.
It seems that the fertility centre’s advertisement, which claims “freezing eggs doesn’t necessarily mean wanting to have children”, targets individuals who have not yet made up their minds. For these individuals, whether or not to have children is not the primary issue; rather, what they don’t want is to lose the opportunity to have children in the future. Therefore, the focus is on preserving the opportunity for reproduction. To avoid future regrets and to manage the uncertainties of their life changes, the fertility centre promotes freezing eggs as a form of “insurance”. It encourages women to take the “regret medicine (後悔藥),” meaning that it is a preventative solution to potential future regrets. They use the reason, “Even if you don’t want to have children now, I might change my mind later,” to encourage women to “invest” in themselves. The slogan targets these undecided individuals, allowing the medical centres to expand their client base from a minority of women who are certain they want children to a majority who are anxious and unsure about the future.
In addition to multimedia advertisements, fertility centres also host “Egg-Freezing Forums” as in-person events to disseminate medical knowledge about egg freezing to the public. At these forums, the empowerment of women is a central theme, exemplified by statements like “Freezing eggs is not just an investment in the future but also gives you the power to control your own future.” By hosting these events, fertility centres aim to empower women to believe they can control their own bodies. They emphasise on concepts like “time, health, and self” to construct a vision of a hopeful future, convincing women that egg freezing transcends the limitations of time and offers a solution to the current chaos of life. This empowerment involves significant medical procedures, such as encouraging women to regularly monitor their ovarian health through AMH testing, a method that examines blood hormone levels to assess egg reserve. The tangible data about ovarian health further instils a sense of control.
This entire narrative centred on “empowerment” forms the basis of their commercial marketing. Under Taiwan’s legal framework, transforming frozen eggs into babies involves numerous steps. The current Assisted Reproduction Act only ensures that infertile heterosexual couples can use assisted reproductive technologies, which means women must enter into heterosexual marriages to thaw their eggs and utilise further reproductive interventions. Given this legal context, it’s clear why fertility clinics do not equate egg freezing directly with childbearing. Instead, they portray egg freezing as a hope, an opportunity, insurance, and investment, providing women with a sense of control over beating the time constraints.
The Self-Sacrificing “Motherhood”
News media in Taiwan often feature stories about female celebrities who opt for egg freezing. However, these reports frequently depict a narrative that glorifies the image of motherhood as one of sacrifice and devotion. For example, the focus is often on the pain and difficulties women endure during the medical process of egg freezing, portraying them as brave, self-sacrificing, and resilient. Contrary to the medical clinics’ emphasis on securing the future, news media shift the narrative focus towards the praiseworthy role of motherhood. This discourse serves as an emotional mobilisation that praises egg freezing, propagating the ultimate goal that “women must become mothers,” thereby reinforcing the societal expectation and norm that motherhood is a woman’s most important value. It is noteworthy that the link between egg freezing and motherhood, prevalent in mainstream media, is deeply rooted in heteronormative standards. For instance, while female celebrities are praised in mainstream media, a lesbian couple who are YouTubers and share their experiences with egg freezing and artificial fertilisation faced public discrimination and insults, which were typically defending heteronormative gender norms. These discriminatory remarks serve as an important reminder to reflect on the heteronormativity continuously reinforced through mainstream media’s connections between egg freezing, motherhood, and the gender roles of women.
Currently, Taiwanese society tends to support egg freezing, viewing it as a forward-thinking and responsible act. The discourse surrounding egg freezing portrays it as a responsible choice for women who are not yet ready to become mothers. However, this narrative in Taiwan may be overly optimistic about the benefits of egg freezing. It’s important to acknowledge that egg freezing cannot reverse the trends of late marriage and childbearing in Taiwan or resolve the crisis of low birth rates. Egg freezing may only be a technique that encourages the personalisation of infertility risks without truly addressing the structural challenges women face, such as societal expectations around motherhood, an unequal division of childcare responsibilities, and a workplace atmosphere hostile to maternity leave.
Chia-Yun recently earned her master’s degree from the Institute of Health Behaviours and Community Sciences at National Taiwan University. For her master’s thesis, she conducted a discourse analysis of Taiwan’s egg-freezing technology, supervised by Professor Chen-I Kuan. She currently works at the Health Promotion Administration, continuing to work on women’s health issues.
This article was published as part of a special issue on “Exploring Technology and Society in Taiwan.”
Taiwan Insight 