Date of Submission
Spring 2020
Academic Program
Sociology; Gender and Sexuality Studies
Project Advisor 1
Yuval Elmelech
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This paper is an exploration of the links between conceptions of womanhood, motherhood, and abortion discourse. I examine this link through a case study on Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which are faith-based organizations that aim to intervene in abortion decisions. This case study is rooted in a theoretical framework that posits abortion restrictions as upholding a traditionalistic version of womanhood that centers femininity around motherhood. I find that Crisis Pregnancy Center representatives hold a gender essentialist worldview that defines womanhood as related to innate traits of care-taking, selflessness, and nonviolence, and defines motherhood as instinctual for women. I conclude that this worldview aligns with American hegemonic femininity, and cannot coexist with the belief that women can have abortions without psychological or spiritual repercussions.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Downs, Macey Clarice, "Fighting for Women, Fighting for Motherhood, Fighting Abortion: the Role of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Upholding Hegemonic Femininity" (2020). Senior Projects Spring 2020. 20.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2020/20
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.
Bard Off-campus DownloadBard College faculty, staff, and students can login from off-campus by clicking on the Off-campus Download button and entering their Bard username and password.
