Using TikTok to teach about abortion: combatting stigma and miseducation in the United States and beyond

ABSTRACT

There is a great deal of misinformation and stigma surrounding abortion, even though it is a common reproductive health service. Teaching about abortion encompasses many things: managing the beliefs of students and teachers; state regulations around teaching or talking about abortion in schools; available resources; and the cultural miseducation and stigma around abortion. As social media becomes more accessible and widely used, educators can use it as a tool for teaching sensitive issues and navigating some of the restrictions and difficulties teaching about abortion comes with. This article explores current considerations and issues around abortion education and how TikTok can be used to teach this sensitive topic both inside and outside of the classroom, especially with adolescents and young adults. With its 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok is a potential educational space for teaching about abortion by spreading accurate information, engaging the audience, and working to open lines of communication to combat abortion stigma

KEYWORDS:

• Abortion education
• sex education
• social media
• TikTok
• abortion stigma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Prior to addressing abortion and how to teach better about this topic, it is important to note that not all people who have abortions are women. People who have a uterus and can get pregnant do not all identify as women – some are transgender men or nonbinary for example. Therefore, this article identifies people who have abortions or can get pregnant as just that, not ‘women.’ In cases where the latter term is used, the author is using the terminology given in a specific study or article.

2. The term prolifer is used to describe an individual who identifies as ‘prolife’ and is opposed to abortion.

3. In order to set up a TikTok profile, users do not have to enter a real name and can create any username they would like. While a phone number is recorded, a user does not have to provide an email address in order to create a profile. As with other social media sites, TikTok allows users to modify privacy settings as well.

Additional information

Funding

No financial support was received for research, authorship or publication of this article.