Speaking of Abortion: Television and Authority in the Lives of Women (Morality and Society Series) [Hardcover]

Andrea L. Press (Author), Elizabeth R. Cole (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226680312 | ISBN-13: 978-0226680316 | Publication Date: April 15, 1999 | Edition: 1

Over four years, Andrea Press and Elizabeth Cole watched television with women, visiting city houses, suburban subdivisions, modern condominiums, and public housing projects. They found that television depicts abortion as a problem for the poor and the working classes, and that viewers invariably referred to and abided by class when discussing abortion. Speaking of Abortion is an invaluable resource that allows us to hear how ordinary women discuss one of America's most volatile issues.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this interesting look at the highly divisive issue of abortion, ethnographers Press and Cole studied the nuances of pro-life and pro-choice positions held by women. The authors conducted 34 discussion groups in women's homes that elicited a broad range of opinions on abortion and reactions to the way television treats the subject. The authors note that previous studies have examined the opinions of activists. This book looks at more ordinary women who hold varied opinions but don't necessarily act on them in any organized way. These women tend to be more ambivalent than activists, with opinions based on personal experiences. The authors examine how personal opinions and media treatment of abortion are influenced by religious beliefs, education, and social status, noting the frequent portrayal on television of lower-income rather than middle-class women seeking abortions. The authors also acknowledge their own positions as middle-class feminists, one black (Cole), the other Jewish (Press), yet present balanced views on the most controversial issue facing women. Vanessa Bush

From the Inside Flap

Over four years, Andrea Press and Elizabeth Cole watched television with women, visiting city houses, suburban subdivisions, modern condominiums, and public housing projects. They found that television depicts abortion as a problem for the poor and the working classes, and that viewers invariably referred to and abided by class when discussing abortion. Speaking of Abortion is an invaluable resource that allows us to hear how ordinary women discuss one of America's most volatile issues.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (April 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226680312
• ISBN-13: 978-0226680316
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,450,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrea Press is Chair of the Department of Media Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, and has taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois, where she won the Arnold O. Beckman award for the top-rated research proposal. She is internationally known for her interdisciplinary scholarship on the media audience, on feminist media issues, and on media and social class in the U.S. She is the author of Women Watching Television: Gender, Class and Generation In The American Television Experience (University of Pennsylvania Press), Speaking Of Abortion: Television And Authority In The Lives Of Women (with Elizabeth R. Cole, University of Chicago Press), and The New Media Environment (with Bruce A. Williams, Basil Blackwell Press). She co-edits the journal The Communication Review with Bruce A. Williams, and has edited book series in Feminist Media Studies for the University of Pennsylvania Press and the University of Illinois Press. She has published numerous essays, articles, and chapters on feminist media theory, social class and the media, and media audiences. For three years (2006-9) she served as Executive Director of the Virginia Film Festival. She has held visiting appointments at the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois, the London School of Economics, and the Stanhope Center for Communications Policy Research in London. She has received fellowship and research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Danforth Foundation, and the Soroptimist International Foundation. Currently she is helping to develop a Center for Media Policy and Ethics at the University of Virginia. Her new project looks at representations of feminism/postfeminism in popular media, and their reception and concomitant attitudes towards feminism/postfeminism itself amongst women of different ages, occupations, social class and ethnic backgrounds.