Narrative Diversity and Sympathetic Abortion: What Online Storytelling Reveals About the Prescribed Norms of the Mainstream Movements

Allen, Mallary

doi:10.1002/symb.135

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…First, as mostly self-defined feminists, participants inhabit communities that promote medical and natural ideologies, so are thus more likely to use them as benchmarks for their own experiences (Keys, 2010). Pro-choice media, including digital abortion storytelling projects, might reinforce certain frames (Allen, 2015).…”

Section: Fieldwork and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicalization and Naturalization

Siegel¹

2020

Catalyst

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This article offers a naturecultural intervention to the abortion literature, which characterizes abortion as a standard procedure, from the perspective of both biomedical and social scientific research. In contrast, by examining interviews with feminists and pro-choice people about their recent abortions (n=27) and my own experiences as an abortion counselor, I find that no singular “abortion” exists; rather, there are many embodied abortions. I discuss how participants negotiate medical and natural ideologies, arguing that these ideologies produce the conditions under which people come to experience abortion in the United States. I also discuss the material consequences of defining abortion as a standard event. I find that universalizing abortion leads to the underrepresentation of marginalized stories, a lack of personalized support, and racialized and classed disparities in who can achieve their desired biosocial state (“normal” or “natural”).

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Section: Fieldwork and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicalization and Naturalization

Siegel¹

2020

Catalyst

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“…Abortion narrative projects are advocacy programs designed to counteract abortion stigma by giving voice to the lived experiences of people touched by abortion (Allen, 2015;Harris, Martin, Debbink, & Hassinger, 2013;Martin, Hassinger, Debbink, & Harris, 2017). These advocacy-oriented goals align well with the human rights-oriented principles of the social work profession mentioned above.…”

Section: Narrative Projectsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Taken together, these professional stances suggest the importance of abortion as a human right. Despite the natural fit between the social work perspective and abortion narrative projects, and despite the increasing availability and popularity of abortion narratives, little to no research has been conducted to systematically explore the themes contained in these stories (Allen, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections of stress in US abortion narratives

Sperlich¹,

Ely

Rouland

et al. 2019

Journal of Social Work

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A trauma-informed, thematic analysis that identified stress-related themes evident in 39 personal abortion narratives from the Tennessee Stories Project in the United States is presented in this paper. Using the Braun and Clarke model of thematic analysis, guided by the trauma-informed social work framework, researchers examined these narratives to identify stress related themes. Findings An overall theme of stress and traumatic stress was found to be present throughout the abortion narratives. These themes were categorized into subthemes, including: (a) existing life stressors preceding the abortion experience, (b) stressors while trying to access abortion services, (c) stressors while obtaining abortion services, and (d) stressors arising after the procedure. Applications These results suggest that stress and traumatic stress were reflected in these abortion narratives throughout the abortion seeking experience. This finding supports the need for social work practice responses that are designed to address and eliminate stress during the process of seeking and obtaining an abortion in the United States. A trauma-informed framework is recommended for guiding social work education about abortion, social worker interactions with clients who are seeking abortions, and the development of abortion policy in the United States in order to better align the abortion seeking experience with the principles of trauma-informed care.

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“…The benefits of public abortion narratives are notable and include, for example, benefits to activists in Argentina who have used abortion narratives to cope with disappointment and to imagine future tactics related to abortion advocacy (Borland, 2014) and Native women in South Dakota who have used abortion storytelling to articulate support for abortion rights (Thomsen, 2015). Additionally, abortion narratives have been used in research, with findings indicating that both pro-choice and antichoice advocates justify their political stance on abortion using their view of women's social roles represented in abortion narratives (Allen, 2014;Thakkilapati, 2019). Recently, this same story/narrative project was examined in relation to stress and coping themes, with findings indicating that stressors were present in the narratives prior to, during, and after abortion procedures, supporting the need for social work responses that work to eliminate the stress inherent in abortion seeking (Sperlich et al, 2019).…”

Section: Abortion Storiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Examining the Processing of Abortion Experiences Using Public Abortion Narratives

Swan

Rouland

Sperlich

et al. 2020

Affilia

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Limited research has utilized public abortion narratives to understand how individuals process through their abortion experiences. To address this gap in the literature, this study used thematic analysis to consider the public abortion stories of 39 participants from the Tennessee Stories Project, focusing on how individuals process through these experiences and the context of the abortion experience in a person’s life course. Participants were primarily those who were abortion patients; however, abortion providers and supporters including partners or spouses, family members, and friends of those who received abortion care were also represented. Data analysis indicated that abortion seekers engage in introspection, involving political and religious/spiritual considerations; report specific feelings about their abortion experience, including having no regrets and feeling gratitude; process emotions related to the abortion experience by normalizing emotional responses and using mementos; and position their abortion in the context of their life, both in terms of their family and career opportunities and personal development. These findings provide valuable insight into how individuals process through the abortion experience, before, during, and after the abortion procedure, and suggest possible directions for service providers, advocates, and policy makers in order to better support abortion patients, providers, and family members.

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Narrative Diversity and Sympathetic Abortion: What Online Storytelling Reveals About the Prescribed Norms of the Mainstream Movements

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Medicalization and Naturalization

Medicalization and Naturalization

Reflections of stress in US abortion narratives

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Examining the Processing of Abortion Experiences Using Public Abortion Narratives

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