Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Claiming the Abortion Narrative: A Qualitative Exploration of Mainstream and Social Media Reflections on Abortion

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse

Abstract

Popular culture representations of abortion reflect and reinforce powerful narratives about reproductive health and womanhood. Critical evaluation of how traditional media—such as film, television, and print—have depicted abortion illustrates the ways in which cultural representation can reinforce negative social myths of abortion. This includes the myth that abortion is rare and dangerous, as well as contributes to the overall stigma surrounding abortion. Additionally, these traditional forms of media often reinforce hegemonic perspectives, with minimal representations of poor women or women of color who are more likely to experience undesired pregnancy and abortion.

Since the introduction of Facebook in 2004, social networking has emerged as an important form of communication and a transformative popular culture medium. The impact of social media on public opinion and framing of pregnancy and abortion is yet to be elucidated. However, given their popularity and participatory nature, social media platforms—like Twitter and Facebook—have been evaluated as tools for public health research and in targeted sexual health education interventions. This chapter critically evaluates key media representations of abortion in traditional and social media over the past 10 years. From this analysis, a theoretical framework for understanding how social media has transformed cultural representations of abortion to create a counter-narrative to traditional media conceptualizations will be generated. Case studies of how abortion has been considered in social media will be used to provide examples of how social media has been used to normalize abortion, galvanize political action, and increase women’s ability to seek safer abortion care. Ultimately we conclude that, through their participatory nature, social media platforms have the potential to challenge traditional media representations of abortion and can serve as empowering platforms for political and feminist pro-choice activism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abramson, E., & Valene, P. (1991). Media use, dietary restraint, bulimia, and attitudes toward obesity: A preliminary study. British Review of Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa, 5, 73–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahman, E., & Shah, I. H. (2011). New estimates and trends regarding unsafe abortion mortality. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 115(2), 121–126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Altshuler, A. L., Gerns Storey, H. L., & Prager, S. W. (2015). Exploring abortion attitudes of US adolescents and young adults using social media. Contraception, 91(3), 226–233.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arambepola, C., & Rajapaksa, L. C. (2014). Decision making on unsafe abortions in Sri Lanka: A case-control study. Reproductive Health, 11, 91.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Blake, E. (2015, January 30). “Nominated for nothing: ‘Obvious Child’”. Entertainment Weekly.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borrero, S., Nikolajski, C., Steinberg, J. R., Freedman, L., Akers, A. Y., Ibrahim, S., & Schwarz, E. B. (2015). “It just happens”: A qualitative study exploring low-income women’s perspectives on pregnancy intention and planning. Contraception, 91(2), 150–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briozzo, L., Vidiella, G., Rodriguez, F., Gorgoroso, M., Faundes, A., & Pons, J. E. (2006). A risk reduction strategy to prevent maternal deaths associated with unsafe abortion. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 95(2), 221–226.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cockrill, K., & Nack, A. (2013). “I’m not that type of person”: Managing the stigma of having an abortion. Deviant Behavior, 34(12), 973–990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cockrill, K., Upadhyay, U. D., Turan, J., & Greene Foster, D. (2013). The stigma of having an abortion: Development of a scale and characteristics of women experiencing abortion stigma. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 45(2), 79–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Common Sense Media. (2015, November 3). Landmark report: U.S. teens use an average of nine hours of media per day, tweens use six hours. Commonsensemedia.org .

  • Douglas, S. J. (2010). Enlightened sexism: The seductive message that feminism’s work is done. New York: Times Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkin, S. J., & Paxton, S. J. (2002). Predictors of vulnerability to reduced body image satisfaction and psychological well-being in response to exposure to idealized female media images in adolescent girls. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 995–1005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dzuba, I. G., Winikoff, B., & Pena, M. (2013). Medical abortion: A path to safe, high-quality abortion care in Latin America and the Caribbean. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 18(6), 441–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erdman, J. N. (2012). Harm reduction, human rights, and access to information on safer abortion. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 118(1), 83–86. doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2012.04.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faludi, S. (1991). Backlash: The undeclared war against American women. New York: Crown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feasey, R. (2012). Anthem global media and communication studies: From happy homemaker to desperate housewives: Motherhood and popular television. London, GB: Anthem Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, M. (2016). 2 abortion foes behind Planned Parenthood videos are Indited. New York: New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/us/2-abortion-foes-behind-planned-parenthood-videos-are-indicted.html?_r=0.

  • Foster, A. M., Wynn, L., Rouhana, A., Diaz-Olavarrieta, C., Schaffer, K., & Trussell, J. (2006). Providing medication abortion information to diverse communities: Use patterns of a multilingual web site. Contraception, 74(3), 264–271.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, A. M., Wynn, L. L., & Trussell, J. (2014). Evidence of global demand for medication abortion information: An analysis of “http://www.medicationabortion.com”. Contraception, 89(3), 174–180.

  • Gomperts, R. J., Jelinska, K., Davies, S., Gemzell-Danielsson, K., & Kleiverda, G. (2008). Using telemedicine for termination of pregnancy with mifepristone and misoprostol in settings where there is no access to safe services. BJOG, 115(9), 1171–1175; discussion 1175–1178.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, D., Baum, S., Fuentes, L., White, K., Hopkins, K., Stevenson, A., & Potter, J. E. (2014a). Change in abortion services after implementation of a restrictive law in Texas. Contraception, 90(5), 496–501. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2014.07.006.

  • Grossman, D., White, K., Hopkins, K., & Potter, J. E. (2014b). The public health threat of anti-abortion legislation. Contraception, 89(2), 73–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guttmacher Institute. (2012). States enact record number of abortion restrictions in 2011. USA: Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved January, 2012, from https://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2012/01/05/endofyear.html.

  • Hanschmidt, F., Linde, K., Hilbert, A., Riedel-Heller, S. G., & Kersting, A. (2016). Abortion stigma: A systematic review. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 48(4), 169–177. doi:10.1363/48e8516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, L. H. (2012). Stigma and abortion complications in the United States. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 120(6), 1472–1474.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, L. H., Debbink, M., Martin, L., & Hassinger, J. (2011). Dynamics of stigma in abortion work: Findings from a pilot study of the providers share workshop. Social Science & Medicine, 73(7), 1062–1070.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, K. (2000). The body electric: Thin-ideal media and eating disorders in adolescents. Journal of Communication, 50, 119–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herold, S., Kimport, K., & Cockrill, K. (2015). Women’s private conversations about abortion: A qualitative study. Women & Health, 55(8), 943–959.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hessini, L. (2014). A learning agenda for abortion stigma: Recommendations from the Bellagio expert group meeting. Women & Health, 54(7), 617–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofschire, L. J., & Greenberg, B. S. (2001). Media’s impact on adolescents’ body dissatisfaction. In J. D. Brown & J. R. Steele (Eds.), Sexual teens, sexual media (pp. 125–149). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, A., Blanchard, K., Coeytaux, F., Grossman, D., & Teixeira, A. (2013). Misoprostol in women’s hands: A harm reduction strategy for unsafe abortion. Contraception, 87(2), 128–130.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joffe, C. (2014). Commentary: Abortion provider stigma and mainstream medicine. Women & Health, 54(7), 666–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R. K., & Kavanaugh, M. L. (2011). Changes in abortion rates between 2000 and 2008 and lifetime incidence of abortion. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 117(6), 1358–1366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krantz, R. (2016). 35 Ruth Bader Ginsgerg memes to celebrate SCOTUS HB2 ruling. New York: Bustle. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/169308-35-ruth-bader-ginsburg-memes-to-celebrate-the-scotus-hb2-ruling.

  • Lewin, T. (2015, October 1). #ShoutYourAbortion gets angry shouts back. New York: New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/us/hashtag-campaign-twitter-abortion.html.

  • Mills, J., Polivy, J., Herman, C. P., & Tiggemann, M. (2002). Effects of exposure to thin media images: Evidence of selfenhancement among restrained eaters. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1687–1699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohlheiser, A. (2014). Read justice Ginsburg’s passionate 35-page dissent of hobby lobby decision. Boston: The Atlantic. Retrieved June 30, 2014, from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/read-justice-ginsburgs-passionate-35-page-dissent-in-the-hobby-lobby-decision/373703/.

  • Payne, C. M., Debbink, M. P., Steele, E. A., Buck, C. T., Martin, L. A., Hassinger, J. A., & Harris, L. H. (2013). Why women are dying from unsafe abortion: Narratives of Ghanaian abortion providers. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 17(2), 118–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, C., Hilton, S., & McDaid, L. (2014). The stigmatisation of abortion: A qualitative analysis of print media in great Britain in 2010. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 16(9), 1141–1155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sisson, G., & Kimport, K. (2014). Telling stories about abortion: Abortion-related plots in American film and television, 1916–2013. Contraception, 89(5), 413–418.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sisson, G., & Kimport, K. (2016a). After after tiller: The impact of a documentary film on understandings of third-trimester abortion. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 18(6), 695–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sisson, G., & Kimport, K. (2016b). Facts and fictions: Characters seeking abortion on American television, 2005–2014. Contraception, 93(5), 446–451.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W., Turan, J. M., White, K., Stringer, K. L., Helova, A., Simpson, T., & Cockrill, K. (2016). Social norms and stigma regarding unintended pregnancy and pregnancy decisions: A qualitative study of young women in Alabama. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 48(2), 73–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Schupak-Neuberg, E., Shaw, H., & Stein, R. (1994). Relation of media exposure to eating disorder symptomatology: An examination of mediating mechanisms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 836–840.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomsen, S. R., Weber, M. M., & Brown, L. B. (2002). The relationship between reading beauty and fashion magazines and the use of pathogenic dieting methods among adolescent females. Adolescence, 37, 1–18.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toobin, J. (2013). Heavy weight: How Ruth Bader Ginsburg has moved the supreme court. New York: The New Yorker. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/03/11/heavyweight-ruth-bader-ginsburg.

  • Totenberg, N. (2015. Notorious RBG: The supreme court justice turned cultural icon. Washington, DC: NPR. Retrieved October 26, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/26/450547606/notorious-rbg-the-supreme-court-justice-turned-cultural-icon.

  • Stevenson, A. J. (2014). Finding the twitter users who stood with Wendy. Contraception, 90(5), 502–507.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Veale, H. J., Sacks-Davis, R., Weaver, E. R., Pedrana, A. E., Stoove, M. A., & Hellard, M. E. (2015). The use of social networking platforms for sexual health promotion: Identifying key strategies for successful user engagement. BMC Public Health, 15, 85.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, L. M. (2002). Does television exposure affect emerging adults’ attitudes and assumptions about sexual relationships? Correlational and experimental confirmation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. New York: W. Morrow.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yonker, L. M., Zan, S., Scirica, C. V., Jethwani, K., & Kinane, T. B. (2015). “Friending” teens: Systematic review of social media in adolescent and young adult health care. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(1), e4.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Suggested Reading

  • Hanschmidt, F., Linde, K., Hilbert, A., Riedel-Heller, S. G., & Kersting, A. (2016). Abortion stigma: A systematic review. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 48(4), 169–177. doi:10.1363/48e8516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, L. H. (2012). Stigma and abortion complications in the United States. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 120(6), 1472–1474.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sisson, G., & Kimport, K. (2014). Telling stories about abortion: Abortion-related plots in American film and television, 1916–2013. Contraception, 89(5), 413–418.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, W., Turan, J. M., White, K., Stringer, K. L., Helova, A., Simpson, T., & Cockrill, K. (2016). Social norms and stigma regarding unintended pregnancy and pregnancy decisions: A qualitative study of young women in Alabama. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 48(2), 73–81.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

    Natalie Whaley

  2. High Point University, High Point, NC, USA

    Jenn Brandt

Authors
  1. Natalie Whaley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jenn Brandt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie Whaley .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. San Juan, USA

    Shonali Choudhury

  2. Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

    Jennifer Toller Erausquin

  3. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Mellissa Withers

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Whaley, N., Brandt, J. (2018). Claiming the Abortion Narrative: A Qualitative Exploration of Mainstream and Social Media Reflections on Abortion. In: Choudhury, S., Erausquin, J., Withers, M. (eds) Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60417-6_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60417-6_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60416-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60417-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation