Degree Year
2014
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Anthropology
Advisor(s)
Crystal Biruk
Keywords
Abortion, Social, Political, Activists, Pro-choice, Gender, Life choices, Feminist, Anthropology, Health care, Medical, Fetus
Abstract
The abortion debate in the United States is a contentious social issue. Within the past three years, legislators introduced abortion related restrictions in unprecedented quantities. Pro-choice activist organizations and individuals are responding to this influx of targeted legislation. My thesis is an ethnographic study of pro-choice activist habitus and the cultural capital shared among activists. I explore political activists' and clinic escorts'; shared rhetorical tactics and personal preferences regarding key pro-choice issues. First I discuss and analyze how gender inequality and gender identity is present in activists'; political abortion discourse and personal life choices. Second, I explore activist political and personal discussions of the body as it relates to abortion and health care. And third, I present and analyze how activist use of the word "fetus" is a significant pro-choice preference that tactically furthers their cause. My thesis expands upon existing ethnographic exploration of activist social movements and their tactics, habitus and preferences, as well as feminist anthropology.
Repository Citation
Aisen, Samantha Leah, "Minds, Bodies, and Political Selves: Embodying Pro-Choice Activism" (2014). Honors Papers. 278.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/278
