"There Are Many of Us": Online Testimonies From "Pill Victims" as a New Form of Health Activism.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: "There Are Many of Us": Online Testimonies From "Pill Victims" as a New Form of Health Activism.
Authors: Turrini, Mauro1 mauro.turrini@cchs.csic.es
Source: Qualitative Health Research. Jun2023, Vol. 33 Issue 7, p567-577. 11p.
Subject Terms: *Contraception, *Attitude (Psychology), *Group identity, *Discourse analysis, Research funding, Victims
Abstract: The French pill scare is usually presented as a "media debate" triggered by the case of Marion Larat, a young woman who suffered a stroke attributed to the pill she was taking. This article intends to focus on a practice that preceded, accompanied, and followed this health scare: the publication of online testimonies of thrombotic reactions posted on the website of the French Association of Victims of Pulmonary Embolism and Stroke Associated with Hormonal Contraception (Avep). Through a discourse analysis, we intend to analyze these online public self-reports as an activist practice aimed at criticizing the dominant medical discourse on contraception. Four discursive frames emerged: unpreparedness of women and doctors, denial of blame and search for the cause, breaking the silence and building solidarity, and collective action. The first two frames concern the process women put in place to obtain the right to speak about and criticize a medical practice. The right to speak is achieved through a concise narrative style focusing on facts, bodily manifestations, and risk factors. The second pair refers to the formation of pill victims as subjects with an ambivalent status and ephemeral agency. The testimonies build what we call "lone solidarity", that is, the creation of a social bond and action around a common experience of witnessing medical injustice that develops without any exchange between members. This proves to be inclusive and viral, but at the same time fiercely anti-representational with respect to political struggles or social identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Qualitative Health Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 164222084
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: "There Are Many of Us": Online Testimonies From "Pill Victims" as a New Form of Health Activism.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Turrini%2C+Mauro%22">Turrini, Mauro</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> mauro.turrini@cchs.csic.es</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Qualitative+Health+Research%22">Qualitative Health Research</searchLink>. Jun2023, Vol. 33 Issue 7, p567-577. 11p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Contraception%22">Contraception</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attitude+%28Psychology%29%22">Attitude (Psychology)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Group+identity%22">Group identity</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discourse+analysis%22">Discourse analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Victims%22">Victims</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The French pill scare is usually presented as a "media debate" triggered by the case of Marion Larat, a young woman who suffered a stroke attributed to the pill she was taking. This article intends to focus on a practice that preceded, accompanied, and followed this health scare: the publication of online testimonies of thrombotic reactions posted on the website of the French Association of Victims of Pulmonary Embolism and Stroke Associated with Hormonal Contraception (Avep). Through a discourse analysis, we intend to analyze these online public self-reports as an activist practice aimed at criticizing the dominant medical discourse on contraception. Four discursive frames emerged: unpreparedness of women and doctors, denial of blame and search for the cause, breaking the silence and building solidarity, and collective action. The first two frames concern the process women put in place to obtain the right to speak about and criticize a medical practice. The right to speak is achieved through a concise narrative style focusing on facts, bodily manifestations, and risk factors. The second pair refers to the formation of pill victims as subjects with an ambivalent status and ephemeral agency. The testimonies build what we call "lone solidarity", that is, the creation of a social bond and action around a common experience of witnessing medical injustice that develops without any exchange between members. This proves to be inclusive and viral, but at the same time fiercely anti-representational with respect to political struggles or social identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Qualitative Health Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=164222084
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/10497323231163741
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 11
        StartPage: 567
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Contraception
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attitude (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Group identity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Discourse analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Victims
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: "There Are Many of Us": Online Testimonies From "Pill Victims" as a New Form of Health Activism.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Turrini, Mauro
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2023
              Type: published
              Y: 2023
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 10497323
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 33
            – Type: issue
              Value: 7
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Qualitative Health Research
              Type: main
ResultId 1