Abortion and emotions

An approach from the Affective Turn and Gender Studies to rethink the interruptions of pregnancy

Abstract

This article starts from the discursive analysis of women’s testimonies who aborted and the emotions that emerged during their experience, in particular, guilt and shame. These emotions can be explained as the transgression of the maternity gender norm, as well as the potential damaging effects that such transgression would cause in the bonds of family, friends and a sex-affective partner, among others. Based on the theoreticalconceptual interaction between the concept of emotions by Sarah Ahmed, the contributions on guilt and shame by Itziar Etxebarria, a cross reading between the concept of gender and that of recognition frames by Judith Butler, and, therefore last, the concept of habitus by Pierre Bourdieu, the research aims to give an
account of the complex and, mainly, hidden network of situations, objects and links in which these emotions emerge in the abortion experience.