ebooks logo journals logo reference works logo abstract databases logo
bullet  SIGN IN Register | Why Register? | Got a Voucher? alerts   marked lists   shopping cart 

informaworld

HOME   |   SEARCH   |   BROWSE
    Issues List       Latest Issue       Forthcoming Articles       Volume 9 Issue 1       Subscribe       Article       References       Related articles      
<< firstfirst   < prevprev   Table of contentstoc   next >next   last >>last
Publisher Logo Publication Cover
Search within this journal

De-constructing 'choice': The social imperative and women's use of the birth control pill 

Author: Kara Granzow a
Affiliation:   a Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Canada
DOI: 10.1080/13691050600963948
Publication Frequency: 8 issues per year
Published in: journal Culture, Health & Sexuality, Volume 9, Issue 1 January 2007 , pages 43 - 54
Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English)
Languages: English; Espantildeol; Franccedilais
Article Requests: Order Reprints : Request Permissions


Abstract

This paper examines the social construction of 'choice' in women's use of the oral contraceptive birth control pill. Using social and historical critiques of neo-liberalism, it is argued that the contemporary priority placed on 'choice' positions women in contradictory ways-requiring them to be both 'choosing' reproductive subjects and reproductive subjects with very few options. The paper works to de-construct contemporary understandings of choice and finds that women's use of the birth control pill is less an exercise of idealized individual agency than it is an act of repetition, tied to ambiguity around what a lived experience of choice might be. To elaborate elements of the theoretical discussion, findings from a qualitative study of women's use of the oral contraceptive are discussed. These reveal that women's articulations of 'choice' challenge the notion of genuinely available and viable alternatives for women, and demonstrate how the use of a technology can silence understandings of contraception as something other than an individual responsibility.
Keywords: Women's health; contraception; choice; deconstruction
view references (19)
Bookmark with:
  • CiteULike
  • Del.icio.us
  • BibSonomy
  • Connotea
  • More bookmarks
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Accessibility | RSS
FAQs in: English . Français . Español . 中文(简体和繁體)
© 2010 Informa plc