“I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the experience”: a narrative analysis of Chrissy Teigen’s social media describing her miscarriage

ABSTRACT

In August 2020, celebrity Chrissy Teigen shared on social media that she was pregnant with her third child. The following month, Teigen used social media to document her pregnancy complications. On September 30, 2020, Teigen posted five black and white photographs via Instagram that chronicled the emotional and physical pain of a miscarriage. One month later, Teigen published an online essay describing the circumstances surrounding her miscarriage and explaining the importance of documenting her experience. By using narrative criticism, this study describes the rhetorical features, specifically the characters, settings, and medium, to explain how Teigen, using social media, sparked a national conversation about miscarriage and the need for compassion and awareness. This analysis discusses the implications of using technology in removing the shroud of silence and stigma that exists around miscarriage in American culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Miscarriage
• social media
• narrative
• criticism
• rhetoric

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kelsey E. Binion

Kelsey E. Binion is a doctoral candidate in Health Communication at IUPUI. Her research interests are communication patterns used in interprofessional healthcare teams and patient-provider relationships, particularly in women’s health.

Maria Brann

Maria Brann is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI. Her health vulnerabilities research utilizes a translational focus and mixed methods approach to advocate for more effective communication and understanding of reproductive loss.