Freeman Cordelia
Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Cult Health Sex. 2022 May;24(5):597-611. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2021.1874053. Epub 2021 Mar 5.
Abortion is a common and safe gynaecological procedure. Yet in film and television it is disproportionately represented as risky, violent, requiring hospitalisation, and affecting young, white, wealthy women. This reinforces stigma, fear and misunderstanding surrounding the procedure. While the majority of television storylines still inaccurately portray abortion, a small minority are directly showing abortion and presenting it as a positive decision. This paper analyses four such storylines in the television shows and , as well as media discourse around these plotlines, to understand how contemporary, 'feminist' television shows are representing abortion. The paper argues that contemporary television is increasingly representing abortion in an empathetic way that upholds women's choice to access the procedure, but that these portrayals can be read as post-feminist. Individual choice and empowerment are prioritised in these shows at the expense of showing the complex and unequal power structures that affect how women make reproductive choices. 'Feminist' television still prioritises the abortion storylines of young, white women who face no obstacles to abortion access and so the realities of abortion are still not fully represented on screen.
堕胎是一种常见且安全的妇科手术。然而在电影和电视中，它却被过度呈现为有风险、暴力、需要住院治疗，且影响年轻、白人、富有的女性。这加剧了围绕该手术的污名化、恐惧和误解。虽然大多数电视剧情仍对堕胎进行了不准确的描绘，但少数剧情直接展示了堕胎，并将其呈现为一个积极的决定。本文分析了电视剧《[剧名1]》和《[剧名2]》中的四个此类剧情，以及围绕这些情节的媒体话语，以了解当代“女权主义”电视剧是如何呈现堕胎的。本文认为，当代电视剧越来越多地以一种富有同理心的方式呈现堕胎，支持女性选择进行该手术，但这些描绘可以被解读为后女权主义的。在这些剧中，个人选择和赋权被置于优先地位，却牺牲了展示影响女性做出生殖选择的复杂且不平等的权力结构。“女权主义”电视剧仍然优先关注那些在堕胎方面没有障碍的年轻白人女性的堕胎情节，因此堕胎的现实情况在屏幕上仍未得到充分展现。
