http://www.policymic.com/articles/84185/hollywood-s-problem-with-abortion-in-one-chart
So this article from policymic points to recent research that covers the abortion trope within movies and television. The researchers found that in media 9% of women die directly as a result of abortion, while in the real world these deaths are less than 1%. Even when these fictional women just contemplate abortion, the stories occasionally end with that woman dead.
The article goes on to say that these media presentations of abortion have tangible consequences. Policy-makers in many states are considering legislation that treats abortion as a dangerous procedure. These media interpretations "a false understanding of abortion, one that paves a clear path for bad policy."
Similarly to this, women are seen as choosing abortion for solely selfish reasons, such as not wanting to hurt their career. In the academic psychologist Carol Gilligan's "In a Different Voice", she interviews real world women who are considering abortion, and finds that more often, the main reasons that they choose abortion is to improve the quality of life for their family or other children.
ReplyDeleteAnother myth is that the only women who get abortions are young, single women with no other children, while in reality, a very larger percentage of women who choose abortion are married with children.
This is absolutely insane. It just goes to show the power that media has on our society and how it can be used as a persuasive tool. And I know Ina said to never read comments on articles, but the comments on this one really helps solidify the impact that the media has on our beliefs.
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