Anitha, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-6918-3680 and Gill, A.K. (2018) Making politics visible: discourses on gender and race in the problematisation of sex-selective abortion. Feminist Review, 120 (1). pp. 1-19. ISSN 0141-7789
Abstract
This paper examines the problematisation of sex-selective abortion (SSA) in UK parliamentary debates on Fiona Bruce's Abortion (Sex-Selection) Bill 2014–15 and on the subsequent proposed amendment to the Serious Crime Bill 2014–15. On the basis of close textual analysis, we argue that a discursive framing of SSA as a form of cultural oppression of minority women in need of protection underpinned Bruce's Bill; in contrast, by highlighting issues more commonly articulated in defence of women's reproductive rights, the second set of debates displaced this framing in favour of a broader understanding, drawing on postcolonial feminist critiques, of how socio-economic factors constrain all women in this regard. We argue that the problematisation of SSA explains the original cross-party support for, and subsequent defeat of, the policies proposed to restrict SSA. Our analysis also highlights the central role of ideology in the policy process, thus making politics visible in policymaking.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Feminist Review. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Feminist Review. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | South Asian women; sex-selective abortion; postcolonial feminism; policy analysis; Serious Crime Bill; Fiona Bruce |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Feb 2024 10:37 |
Last Modified: | 08 Feb 2024 15:34 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1057/s41305-018-0137-4 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:208884 |
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Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0