A New Doll in Texas: a feminist media analysis of senator wendy davis’s rhetorical framing as “Abortion Barbie”

ABSTRACT

After Senator Wendy Davis’s epic filibuster of Texas’s House Bill 2 in 2013, she was vilified in the media as “Abortion Barbie.” As a term, “Abortion Barbie” was circulated in conservative and liberal press, from blogs to traditional media outlets. This essay examines the media frames that helped characterize Davis as Abortion Barbie to chart how they functioned during and after the Texas HB2 debate. By making female bodies inert, sexualizing them, and describing women as criminal, we argue that the visual rhetoric of Abortion Barbie damaged Davis’s political career and circulated this negative image to the public as a rationale for sexist policies that undermine access to reproductive health care.

KEYWORDS:

• Abortion Barbie
• Wendy Davis
• HB2 filibuster
• media frames
• reproductive rights

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. Conservative Tree House has recently removed this image from their website.

2. The term appears in conservative and liberal presses. The following are examples of headlines where Abortion Barbie appears, but it is not an exhaustive list. Jamitis, Jim. 2017. “Sandra Bullock Will Play Abortion Barbie in the Most Unnecessary Biopic in Human History.” RedState. November 9. https://redstate.com/jimjamitis/2017/11/09/sandra-bullock-will-play-abortion-barbie-unnecessary-biopic-human-history-n79613; Ross, Kimberly. 2017. “Abortion Barbie is Back, And Has More Dumb Things to Say.” RedState. March 16.https://www.redstate.com/kimberly_ross/2017/03/16/abortion-barbie-dumb-things/;Chretien, Claire. 2018. ““Abortion Barbie” Wendy Davis May be the Next PlannedParenthood President.” LifeSiteNews. March 14. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/wendy-davis-may-be-next-planned-parenthood-president-im-so-proud-to-promote; Rosner, Molly. 2014. “The Violence of Abortion Barbie, Wendy Davis.” Huffington Post. June 9. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/molly-rosner/the-violence-of-abortion-_b_5453410.html; Turner, L. 2014. “Wendy Davis as “Abortion Barbie” Is Artist Sabo’s Latest Terrible Creation.” Bustle. May 23. https://www.bustle.com/articles/25558-wendydavis-as-abortion-barbie-is-artist-sabos-latest-terrible-creation; Sorkin, Amy Davidson. “Erick Erickson’s Abortion Barbie Game.” The New Yorker. August 9. https://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/erick-ericksons-abortion-barbie-game; Walsh, Joan. 2013. “Revenge of the ‘Abortion Barbies.’” Salon. August 6. https://www.salon.com/2013/08/06/revenge_of_the_abortion_barbies/; Burleigh, Nina. 2013. “From ‘We Saw Your Boobs’ to ‘Abortion Barbie’: The Year in Sexism.” The Observer. December 31. http://observer.com/2013/12/from-we-saw-your-boobs-toabortion-barbie-the-year-in-sexism; McDonough, Katie. 2014. “Erick Erickson Doesn’t Understand Why Calling Wendy Davis ‘Abortion Barbie’ is Sexist Because Erick Erickson is Sexist.” Salon. August 11. https://www.salon.com/2014/08/11/erick_erickson_doesnt_understand_why_calling_wendy_davis_abortion_barbie_is_sexist_because_erick_erickson_is_sexist/; Ciapponi, Giana.2014. “Wendy Davis Confronts Horrifying “Abortion Barbie” Posters, We Weep for Women Everywhere.” Ravishly. May 23. https://ravishly.com/2014/05/23/wendy-davisabortion-barbie-poster; Ryan, Erin Gloria. 2014. “Here Are the ‘Abortion Barbie’ Posters Nobody Asked For.” Jezebel. May 23. https://jezebel.com/here-are-the-abortion-barbie-postersnobody-asked-for-1580656401; Slater, Wayne. 2014. ‘“Abortion Barbie’ posters depicting Wendy Davis as a pregnant Barbie doll appear in Los Angeles.” Dallas News. May 22. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2014/05/22/abortion-barbie-posters-depicting-wendy-davis-as-a-pregnant-barbie-doll-appear-in-los-angeles/;

3. For more on the negative descriptions of feminism in news media, see: Ashley, Laura, and Beth Olson. 1998. “Constructing Reality: Print Media’s Framing of the Women’s Movement, 1966–1986.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 75 (Summer): 263–277.; Mendes, Kaitlynn. 2011. “Reporting the Women’s Movement: News Coverage of Second-Wave Feminism in UK and US Newspapers, 1968–1982.” Feminist Media Studies 11 (4): 483–498.

4. Only one of the articles, written by then doctoral student Molly Rosner and published on Huffington Post, offered a critical reading of the image and its sexist implications.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa M. Corrigan

Lisa M. Corrigan is a Professor of Communication, Director of the Gender Studies Program, and Affiliate Faculty in African & African American Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Arkansas. E-mail: [email protected]

Skye de Saint Felix

Skye de Saint Felix is a doctoral candidate in the rhetoric and political culture track at the University of Maryland where her research concerns the rhetoric and politics of women’s health. E-mail: [email protected]