Written by: Ilaria Giovannelli1, Terri Mannarini2, Federica Spaccatini3, Maria Giuseppina Pacilli1
1Department of Political
Science, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
2Department of
History Society and Human Sciences, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
3Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
Pro-choice advocates'
voices have echoed around the world in recent decades, both in liberal and legally
restrictive abortion contexts. Even at the cost of their own stigmatization, pro-choice
activists’ battles have impacted public opinion and achieved crucial political
outcomes, such as the legalization of elective abortion and/or the busting of
abortion stigma (Staggenborg, 1991). Even though, in Italy, elective abortion
was legalized over 40 years ago, several right-wing political parties and
anti-choice movements still regard it as an immoral practice, and they
frequently dispute the law that protects it (Caruso, 2020). Pro-choice
activists are constantly monitoring and countering these threats to abortion
rights, and as a result, they are subjected to unfavorable views and denigrator
attacks, particularly in public contexts, as they have been in the past (e.g., Macor, 2021).
Given this, in the
Italian setting, we investigated abortion stigma toward pro-choice activists in
order to shed light on this issue and add to what has previously been
documented about stigma toward people who decide to abort and abortion providers
(e.g., Kumar et al., 2009; O’Donnell et al., 2011; Pacilli et al., 2018). We
conducted a qualitative study to investigate pro-choice activists’ experienced,
perceived, and internalized stigma and how they managed it. Our participants
consisted of thirty-four Italian cisgender women who are pro-choice activists and
are actively and publicly engaged in movements, organizations, or unions that
defend people’s reproductive freedom and support abortion rights. We conducted
semi-structured interviews which were audio-recorded, and then transcribed and
analyzed (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).
Our study revealed that
pro-choice activists faced both blatant and subtle stigma. They reported being
the direct victims (or witnesses) of verbal and physical attacks, particularly
by members of no-choice or right-wing groups, as well as violent attacks. Participants
stated that stigma directed against them also manifested itself in more subtle
ways, such as social disapproval or social distancing. Furthermore, our
findings revealed that both pro-choice activists who had directly experienced
(or witnessed) stigma, and those who had not, had a clear understanding of how
others view them.
Even though they were aware that some people regard them as a positive
model to follow in the battle against abortion stigma and, more broadly, for
reproductive rights, they felt a negative focus on their positionalities and
advocacy role surrounding elective abortion in most situations. It’s worth
noting, that despite the fact that the majority of participants said they had
been stigmatized and felt a devaluing gaze on themselves, they opposed this
devaluing view.
Indeed, according to the interview data, pro-choice advocates did not internalize this stigma and asserted their personal, political, and social worth. To counter stigmatization, pro-choice activists who were involved in the study stated that they employed various abortion stigma management strategies, such as speaking openly about their involvement. Speaking openly about their abortion position is a beneficial tactic on a personal level to contrast internalization of stigma, but it is also a useful strategy on a socio-political level because it allows them to combat stigma against elective abortion. The article dives into the argumentative strategies used to combat abortion stigma (e.g., sharing real narratives, critically reflecting on the humanness of the fetus), as well as highlighting, in some cases, pro-choice activists’ opposing viewpoints. Finally, our findings showed examples of strategies that could be useful to all actors involved in abortion activism and revealed several implications and directions for future research.
References
Caruso, E. (2020). Abortion in Italy: forty years on. Feminist Legal
Studies, 28(1), 87-96. https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1007/s10691-019-09419-w
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to
qualitative content analysis. Qualitative
Health Research, 15(9), 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
Kumar, A., Hessini, L., & Mitchell, E. M. (2009). Conceptualising
abortion stigma. Culture, Health &
Sexuality, 11(6), 625-639. https://doi.org./10.1080/13691050902842741
Macor, M. (2021,
March 10). Alice, 26 anni: Mi insultano perchè sono la testimonial dell'aborto
farmacologico: ma io vado avanti. La
Repubblica, Genova.
O’Donnell, J., Weitz, T. A., & Freedman, L. R. (2011). Resistance
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Pacilli, M. G., Giovannelli, I., Spaccatini, F., Vaes, J., & Barbaranelli, C. (2018). Elective abortion predicts the dehumanization of women and men through the mediation of moral outrage. Social Psychology, 49, 287-302. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000351
Staggenborg, S. (1991). The
pro-choice movement: Organization and activism in the abortion conflict. Oxford University Press.
Find an article based on this study on the F&P website at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09593535221106653
