Repealing the Eighth Amendment: Counter Stories and Storytelling for Resistance, Empowerment and Social Change in Irish Reproductive Politics

Abstract

This paper examines the pivotal role played by counter accounts in reshaping public sentiment and disrupting the power and reach of hegemonic discourse. While prior scholarship has largely focused on the emergence of counter accounts as alternative perspectives to dominant and institutionalised narratives, we highlight the prevalence and significant influence of institutionalised public narratives, which tend to become deeply ingrained in the collective public consciousness of society. These narratives often go unquestioned and unchallenged. Consequently, when attempting to reshape public discourse and people's perspectives on a particular issue, the focus is often not on countering the content of the hegemonic account itself, but on how to challenge the widespread acceptance and power that this narrative holds in various forms that limit the potential for alternative viewpoints to gain traction. Our empirical investigation centres on counter accounts that emerged within the ‘Together for Yes’ (TfY) and Repeal the Eighth campaigns in Ireland where we investigated how counter accounts that draw on the private experiences of women's reproductive rights engendered public solidarity in addressing deeply personal issues and transgressed the prevalence of institutionalised narratives on abortion. Drawing on the insights of bell hooks (1989; 1990; 1992; 1994), we find that this takes place in the form of stories and storytelling, that do not directly confront or deconstruct the narratives promoted by dominant institutions but instead aim to address the underlying dynamics and consequences generated by the very existence of these institutionalised narratives within the public sphere. hooks' work underscores the transformative potential of storytelling, which immerses audiences in the intricacies of narratives, fostering perceptual shifts and challenging preconceived notions. Our findings highlight stories and storytelling as a potent tool for countering the omnipresence of hegemonic discourse by specifically challenging the dynamics of silence, dehumanisation, stigma, and shame perpetuated by institutionalised narratives concerning women's reproductive rights.