Aligning the Affective Body: Commercial Surrogacy in Moscow and the Emotional Labour of Nastraivatsya

Drawing on the concepts of «emotional labour» (Hochschild) and «technologies of the self» (Foucault), this article explores how women align their affective and thus risky bodies in order to become effective surrogate workers in Moscow. I argue that this alignment entails «dis-emotionalising» the pregnancy by strategically essentialising the female body. This essentialisation also serves as an authoritative tool of control and conceals the power disparities at hand.Drawing on the concepts of «emotional labour» (Hochschild) and «technologies of the self» (Foucault), this article explores how women align their affective and thus risky bodies in order to become effective surrogate workers in Moscow. I argue that this alignment entails «dis-emotionalising» the pregnancy by strategically essentialising the female body. This essentialisation also serves as an authoritative tool of control and conceals the power disparities at hand.Drawing on the concepts of «emotional labour» (Hochschild) and «technologies of the self» (Foucault), this article explores how women align their affective and thus risky bodies in order to become effective surrogate workers in Moscow. I argue that this alignment entails «dis-emotionalising» the pregnancy by strategically essentialising the female body. This essentialisation also serves as an authoritative tool of control and conceals the power disparities at hand