Sisson Gretchen, Kimport Katrina
University of California, San Francisco.
University of California, San Francisco.
Contraception. 2014 May;89(5):413-8. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2013.12.015. Epub 2014 Jan 9.
Popular discourse on abortion in film and television assumes that abortions are under- and misrepresented. Research indicates that such representations influence public perception of abortion care and may play a role in the production of social myths around abortion, with consequences for women's experience of abortion. To date, abortion plotlines in American film and television have not been systematically tracked and analyzed.
A comprehensive online search was conducted to identify all representations of pregnancy decision making and abortion in American film and television through January 2013. Search results were coded for year, pregnancy decision and mortality outcome.
A total of 310 plotlines were identified, with an overall upward trend over time in the number of representations of abortion decision making. Of these plotlines, 173 (55.8%) resulted in abortion, 80 (25.8%) in parenting, 13 (4.2%) in adoption and 21 (6.7%) in pregnancy loss, and 16 (5.1%) were unresolved. A total of 13.5% (n=42) of stories ended with the death of the woman who considered an abortion, whether or not she obtained one.
Abortion-related plotlines occur more frequently than popular discourse assumes. Year-to-year variation in frequency suggests an interactive relationship between media representations, cultural attitudes and policies around abortion regulation, consistent with cultural theory of the relationship between media products and social beliefs. Patterns of outcomes and rates of mortality are not representative of real experience and may contribute to social myths around abortion. The narrative linking of pregnancy termination with mortality is of particular note, supporting the social myth associating abortion with death.
This analysis empirically describes the number of abortion-related plotlines in American film and television. It contributes to the systematic evaluation of the portrayal of abortion in popular culture and provides abortion care professionals and advocates with an initial accurate window into cultural stories being told about abortion.
电影和电视中关于堕胎的大众话语认为堕胎的呈现不足且存在错误表述。研究表明，此类呈现会影响公众对堕胎护理的认知，并可能在围绕堕胎的社会神话的形成中发挥作用，进而影响女性的堕胎体验。迄今为止，美国电影和电视中的堕胎情节线尚未得到系统的追踪和分析。
进行了全面的在线搜索，以确定截至2013年1月美国电影和电视中所有关于怀孕决策和堕胎的呈现。对搜索结果按年份、怀孕决策和死亡结果进行编码。
共识别出310条情节线，随着时间的推移，堕胎决策呈现的数量总体呈上升趋势。在这些情节线中，173条（55.8%）以堕胎告终，80条（25.8%）以生育告终，13条（4.2%）以收养告终，21条（6.7%）以流产告终，16条（5.1%）未解决。共有13.5%（n = 42）的故事以考虑堕胎的女性死亡告终，无论她是否进行了堕胎。
与堕胎相关的情节线出现的频率比大众话语所认为的更高。频率的逐年变化表明，围绕堕胎监管的媒体呈现、文化态度和政策之间存在互动关系，这与媒体产品和社会信仰之间关系的文化理论一致。结果模式和死亡率并不代表真实经历，可能会助长围绕堕胎的社会神话。将终止妊娠与死亡联系起来的叙事尤其值得注意，它支持了将堕胎与死亡联系起来的社会神话。
本分析实证描述了美国电影和电视中与堕胎相关的情节线数量。它有助于对流行文化中堕胎描绘的系统评估，并为堕胎护理专业人员和倡导者提供了一个初步准确的窗口，以了解关于堕胎的文化故事。
