Agency-Without-Choice: The Visual Rhetorics of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Promotion

Abstract

This manuscript reports the findings of a critical visual discourse analysis of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) promotion materials. The authors argue that these contemporary LARC promotion images produce a discourse they identify as “agency-without-choice,” in which LARC devices are framed as the only responsible contraceptive option precisely because they are so empowering. The authors situate LARC promotion within its historical and transnational travels and suggest that LARC promotion be understood within the context of twenty-first century neoliberalism. Finally, they consider the implications of agency-without-choice in terms of ongoing scholar-activism for reproductive justice. A video abstract is available at https://tinyurl.com/ya83dxdo.