Anyone else find The Archers uncomfortable listening yesterday

[recreationalcalpol]

The Lexi / Adam / Ian surrogacy storyline particularly.

Adam and Ian getting the ‘first hold’. Lexi not holding the baby until after Jennifer. Lexi feeling guilty/possibly having second thoughts. Jennifer trying to take the baby off her straight away and clearly terrified that Lexi will want to keep HER baby. The baby being taken away from his mother straight after birth. Presumably not breastfed. Ugh. I know it’s not real, but I just think the storyline was so uncritical of surrogacy.

I actually wondered if the storyline is meant to show how exploitative surrogacy is? If they didn't mean to they've succeeded I'm sure.
The timing is also interesting - Lexi the migrant performing her last pre brexit task by delivering a son and heir to her employer.

Also happens to coincide with the law Commission Consultation into surrogacy, which among the many damaging proposals seeks to smooth the path of commissioning parents who buy a baby from an impoverished country abroad.

Yes I've been waiting for there to be a glimmer of questioning of surrogacy in the storyline over the last year.

But as far as I can tell there's been nothing. I was hoping for a sense of disapproval from Pat-the-feminist or something, anything other than the fawning pro-surrogacy message.

Maybe Helen could have spoken about it from the perspective of someone who's baby was conceived by rape.

I'm disappointed.

I absolutely hate this storyline and was shouting at the radio yesterday - I have never turned TA off before but I was close to it last night.

I'm hoping that Fanny might be on to something in her post, but as it's the BBC I think the fawning unquestioning acceptance is probably straight down the line.

I agree - I think that any exploitation angle was unintended. I’m not looking forward to the next few episodes - Lexi skipping off back home, Adam and Ian loved up with their oh so perfect baby, Jennifer excluding Lexi.

Also, Lexi saying ‘you’ve thanked me enough’. Ummm, really?!

I’m going to listen in a bit.
Is the baby biologically Lexi’s or did they use an egg donor?

The Archers do slow burning stories - they can as they've been going for over 60 years now. Something will come out of this storyline at some stage, else they wouldn't be doing it. Give it time. It could go in any direction

Jennifer is the most annoying thing in it for me so far. Never felt so much like slapping anyone in my life. She's a nightmare.

everyone on the radio addicts thread was pissed off!
I'm hoping this is a slow burning story, and Lexi will not hand the baby over. She was saying that her daughters were getting attached to the unborn baby.
Another possibility (also mentioned on the Archers thread) was that the baby could turn out to have a disability.

The few times I've tried to listen have always been uncomfortable.

just had a thought that maybe in an agricultural community where they breed animals - and often use AI- surrogacy may seem less unusual?
afaik male calves are separated from dairy cows shortly after birth, maybe similar?

I have stopped listening to the archers, partly as a result of this storyline.

I haven’t followed the Archers for years but that’s interesting timing to have a storyline on this while there is a major public consultation from the Law Commission of England, Wales and Scotland about reforming surrogacy law happening at the moment. Did they plan that on purpose?

This legal firm gets top marks for being on the ball with their marketing, but it also sets out the legal issues that could come up in the storyline helpfully:

www.stoneking.co.uk/news/surrogacy-archers-why-legal-advice-vital

I think I gritted the enamel off my teeth.

I think the coincidence with the current Consultation is to tell us that this is a normal and everyday event. No big deal. Subliminal messages.

No one has expressed even the mildest doubt, apart from Roy and Emma who are way down the food chain.

It's a 'donor' egg PhonicTheHedgehog so baby won't know its true origins until it does one of those dna genealogy tests in 20 years and discovers 27 brothers and 15 sisters spread round the western world!

It is a bit of a silly plot in that Ian and Adam have been together for years and never expressed any interest in having a child before. Jenny, who has 4 children of her own plus brings up Brian’s son and already has 4 grandchildren, behaves like someone who has no experience of pregnancy and childbirth at all. I do think there will be some sort of a twist though.

The same unproblematic plot line happened with Helen who seemingly had one round of donor insemination and got pregnant immediately. The good mixed race midwife who was the daughter of the vicar and recognised Helen’s pre eclampsia got written out to be replaced by a male midwife last night. Fine to go against stereotyping when it comes to jobs but there are no women physicists or programmers in Ambridge. Alice has a postgraduate degree possibly in a STEM subject (can’t remember) but only seems to demonstrate drones.

Sorry - that really set me off

Did they plan that on purpose?

I tried to check that Chattylion. The Law Commission work started in May 2018. Ian started to talk about surrogacy in 2017 so this plot has been going on for ages before any official announcements. It felt like it came out of blue and the scriptwriters have been lucky with the topicality but I know they do discuss plots way in advance.

I regularly read TA threads in Radio Addicts - I'm too feart to post there plus I don't think they like swearing - and I was heartened to see so many voicing counter views to what seems to be being pushed by the show - I really hope Fanny and Ancient are right and there's going to be more to this than unquestioning acceptance.

And yes "Fuck off Jennifer!!!" was my preferred shouty rant during last nights ep.

Anyone else find it grating that the older woman, Jennifer, is the only one scripted to be annoying? Talking to Lexi as if she knows nothing of pregnancy and being so suffocating Lexi had to flee to Linda Snell to get away? Lexi is portrayed as noble and selfless, Ian and Adam as just the best thing since sliced bread.

It's almost like the BBC can't bring themselves to portray European workers and gay men as anything less than admirable, but older women can go fuck themselves.

there's an excellent post on p33 of the radio addicts archers thread which imagines the scriptwriters suddenly realising surrogacy might be more complicated than they had imagined and they deal with it by dumping all of the negativity/doubt onto a person (Jenny) who usually is fairly sensitive but has a sudden personality change for this storyline.

There's also an interesting post from someone who was an altruistic surrogate for a friend and was very happy with the experience.

Jenny, who has 4 children of her own plus brings up Brian’s son and already has 4 grandchildren, behaves like someone who has no experience of pregnancy and childbirth at all.

3 - only Kate has had children, and none was born in Ambridge, so I wonder if Jenny has always resented that, possibly subconsciously.

But even if she is worried, it didn't ring true that she wouldn't have put on a good face and smiled for the camera. She's been doing that sort of thing her whole married life.

I will see how the storyline turns out before I decide which side of the fence I'm on.

Jennifer was certainly in prime mumsnet MIL form last night

There's a reason the TASWAMA acronym gets rolled out so frequently on the Archers threads (for those of you who don't follow them, it stands for The Archers Script Writers Are Misogynist Arseholes)

A donor egg, thank you. That’s lots of “interesting” story lines for the future.

“It is a bit of a silly plot in that Ian and Adam have been together for years and never expressed any interest in having a child before. ”
Ian’s always wanted a baby. They’ve talked about it on and off over the years and a friend of Ian’s was going to “have a baby for them” a few years ago but changed her mind

I think Lexi is going to change her mind and take the baby back to Romania with her.

You are right that Ian's friend Madds wanted him to be a donor Bertrand but I suppose I discounted that because she was the one who wanted the baby and Adam was so angry. You are right though that Ian has always been more keen and I think he was going to be a godparent for Jack at one point.

Ebearhug You are right - I gave Kate an extra child in South Africa.

Orchidinthesun That is an excellent acronym - I must take a look at these threads even though my plot knowledge is clearly a bit wobbly.

I think TASWAMA is an excellent acronym.