Constructing Women's Identities - A Feminist Analysis of the Abortion Discourse in Mexico

This thesis explores the abortion discourse in Mexico. Using constructivist and feminist theory, it uncovers values and ideas associated with women’s identities in relation to abortion. Two reports from two different governmental agencies in Mexico are analyzed with the help of discourse and qualitative text analyses. These reports are responses to the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and describe the situation of women in Mexico by presenting an overview of the development of their rights. The analysis shows how women’s identities are constructed and reinforced within apparent gendered structures in the abortion discourse. These structures limit how women’s identities are discussed and thus exclude important aspects of the abortion issue. The analysis also finds that the government delegations reinforce traditional values in the context of women’s identities by honouring motherhood. This leads to the avoidance of any discussion of women who want or need to have abortions. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the importance of acknowledging gendered structures in the abortion discourse. When left unnoticed, they impart an ineffective and false representation of the actual situation in the country