Marcin Smietana

Dr Marcin Smietana is a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Department of Sociology and the Reproductive Sociology Research Group (ReproSoc). His work focuses on LGBTQ+ family formation, transnational surrogacy, and reproductive justice, funded by grants including a Marie Curie Fellowship and Wellcome Trust support. He teaches courses on Sociology of Gender, Health and Illness, and MPhil in Health, Medicine & Society.

• PhD in Sociology (University of Barcelona/AFIN)
• Postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley and Cambridge

His research explores queer resistance to authoritarianism, racial dynamics in ART (assisted reproductive technologies), and reproductive decision-making among gay men. He co-edited the landmark volume Making Families: Transnational Surrogacy, Queer Kinship and Reproductive Justice (2018), which bridges reproductive anthropology with queer theory. Current projects examine queer ecologies and critical animal studies.

Key contributions include:

• Identifying repro-regional moral frameworks in cross-cultural surrogacy studies (USA, India, Russia)
• Documenting the intersections of race and queer reproduction in international surrogacy markets
• Deconstructing emotional economies in U.S. commercial surrogacy

He supervises dissertations on transnational surrogacy, queer kinship, and species relationships in reproduction, with publications spanning Reproductive BioMedicine & Society Online, Sociological Research Online, and edited volumes. His upcoming book examines gay men’s reproductive decision-making in transnational contexts.