Invisible, Responsible Women in Sweden–Planning Pregnancies, Choosing Contraceptives
Zettermark, Sofia LU
(2023)
In NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research
31(4).
p.349-366
- Abstract
In this study I explore discourses of contraception and reproduction, which are drawn upon and reproduced in Swedish official online sources on contraceptive advice, through the theoretical frameworks of biomedicalization and reproductive justice. The analysis yielded three interwoven themes: 1) women in need of contraceptives have to balance discourses of exogenous hormones as both an “unnatural” threat to their bodies and as desirable, effective regulators of the same “naturally unruly” body; 2) in search of a “perfect contraceptive fit”, it is the woman who needs to accommodate to available methods, rather than the other way around; 3) women are made discursively invisible, while simultaneously being constructed as individually... (More)
In this study I explore discourses of contraception and reproduction, which are drawn upon and reproduced in Swedish official online sources on contraceptive advice, through the theoretical frameworks of biomedicalization and reproductive justice. The analysis yielded three interwoven themes: 1) women in need of contraceptives have to balance discourses of exogenous hormones as both an “unnatural” threat to their bodies and as desirable, effective regulators of the same “naturally unruly” body; 2) in search of a “perfect contraceptive fit”, it is the woman who needs to accommodate to available methods, rather than the other way around; 3) women are made discursively invisible, while simultaneously being constructed as individually responsible for reproduction. Underpinning all these themes is the discourse of rational, responsible choices, of exerting agency by choosing the right contraceptive. In the era of biomedicalization, finding a “contraceptive fit” becomes a moral and gendered health practice demanding thorough self-surveillance. The rational woman, exercising control over her reproduction and body, by planning her pregnancy with safe contraceptives, emerges as the only possible position. Recognizing that women’s and fertile person’s reproductive choices are made amid a societal context, with differing personal resources and experiences, would bring us even closer to reproductive justice.
(Less)
- author
- Zettermark, Sofia
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- biomedicalization, Contraception, reproductive justice, Swedish health care, women’s agency
- in
- NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research
- volume
- 31
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 349 - 366
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85161168026
- ISSN
- 0803-8740
- DOI
- 10.1080/08038740.2023.2214742
- project
- Hormonal contraceptives and psychological health in Swedish women – investigating heterogeneity with quantitative and qualitative methods
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 90344c7c-b36d-45a6-a56d-cc1429278a3e
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-24 16:06:10
- date last changed
- 2024-01-09 15:46:42
@article{90344c7c-b36d-45a6-a56d-cc1429278a3e,
abstract = {{<p>In this study I explore discourses of contraception and reproduction, which are drawn upon and reproduced in Swedish official online sources on contraceptive advice, through the theoretical frameworks of biomedicalization and reproductive justice. The analysis yielded three interwoven themes: 1) women in need of contraceptives have to balance discourses of exogenous hormones as both an “unnatural” threat to their bodies and as desirable, effective regulators of the same “naturally unruly” body; 2) in search of a “perfect contraceptive fit”, it is the woman who needs to accommodate to available methods, rather than the other way around; 3) women are made discursively invisible, while simultaneously being constructed as individually responsible for reproduction. Underpinning all these themes is the discourse of rational, responsible choices, of exerting agency by choosing the right contraceptive. In the era of biomedicalization, finding a “contraceptive fit” becomes a moral and gendered health practice demanding thorough self-surveillance. The rational woman, exercising control over her reproduction and body, by planning her pregnancy with safe contraceptives, emerges as the only possible position. Recognizing that women’s and fertile person’s reproductive choices are made amid a societal context, with differing personal resources and experiences, would bring us even closer to reproductive justice.</p>}},
author = {{Zettermark, Sofia}},
issn = {{0803-8740}},
keywords = {{biomedicalization; Contraception; reproductive justice; Swedish health care; women’s agency}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{349--366}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research}},
title = {{Invisible, Responsible Women in Sweden–Planning Pregnancies, Choosing Contraceptives}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2023.2214742}},
doi = {{10.1080/08038740.2023.2214742}},
volume = {{31}},
year = {{2023}},
}