Abortion and the Symbolic Interaction Paradigm

Symbolic interactionism
Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical perspective that people use definitions, meanings, symbols,
interpretations, and human interactions to compare themselves to others (Henslin, 2010, p.15).Herbert
Blumer, whom attended University of Chicago with one of the founders of the symbolic interactionism
perspective, George Herbert Mead, developed one of the most prominent versions of the perspective
(McClelland, 2000).

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Mooney, Knox, and Schacht explained Blumer’s theory of the symbolic interactionism perspective.
According to Blumer, social problems develop in stages.

The first stage is “social recognition”, when the social problem first happened. The second stage is “social
legitimization”, when the problem is recognized by the community. When the community gets concerned
and starts to develop a way to react is called the “mobilization for action”. “Development and
implementation of an official plan” is when legal regulations occur (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2000, p. 10-
16). There are many ways that people interpret the idea of abortion, and they often use words to help get
their opinions across.

Language is just a system of symbols that we recognize as a way of communication, and in terms of
abortion, there are several ways to use language to make points to solidify one’s position on the issue. The
pro-choice movement is a group that believes that women should have to choice to have an abortion if they
feel that it is necessary given their personal circumstances. The phrase “pro-choice” is a very strong symbol
in itself because it can cause people to think in a more broad sense, implying that if one is not pro-choice,
then he/she must believe that the mother of the unborn child does have rights to her own body.

On the other hand, pro-life can also be seen as a very significant symbol, because it also tends to imply that
if one is not pro-life, they simply believe that the unborn child in the womb does not deserve to live.
Obviously, this conclusion is not always true, but it is the implications that make the phrases such strong
symbols. Each side of the argument has its own list of legitimate reasons why they feel that their way is the
right way, but there are some words that they use that are demeaning and insulting to whomever it is that is
considering an abortion.

While it is understandable that many pro-life groups believe that an abortion is a terrible way to end a life,
the use of strong, suggestive words makes it seem like they are simply trying to make women feel even
guiltier about having an abortion. Having an abortion is oftentimes one of the most heart-wrenching,
difficult decisions a woman has to make, and some pro-life activists still feel that it is necessary to make the
woman feel even more torn by comparing abortions to murder. This is probably the strongest, most symbolic
word used to describe an abortion.
Opinion on the subject

No matter what a group’s opinion on the subject, they should not use guilt as a means of trying to turn
people away from abortion. This leads to further arguments, and more importantly, it leads to women feeling
even worse about their decision should they decide to go through with an abortion. Words are a very big part
of symbolism when dealing with such a sensitive subject like abortion. They can be used positively, to try to
enlighten a person on the subject, or they can be used negatively, to try to scare a person into siding with one
group or the other.

Because there are so many negative connotations that go along with having an abortion, it becomes a very
significant factor of social corruption. There are different types of abortion, therapeutic abortion, when the
mother’s health would be at risk if the pregnancy was continued; elective abortion, when the woman decides
not continue a pregnancy for whichever reason; abortion pill, which can terminate a pregnancy up to 9
weeks into it (Planned Parenthood, 2011).

Many people feel differently about the different types of abortion and there are laws regarding how far into
pregnancy an abortion can be performed. The news and media cover the abortion debates frequently and
often help to stir up some of the controversy. It was found by David Shaw, a write for the LA Times-
Washington Post Service, that the media often favors pro-choice advocates over pro-life and “Columns of
commentary favoring abortion rights outnumber those opposing abortion by a argin of 2 to 1 on the
opinion/editorial pages of most of the nation’s major daily newspapers” (as cited in Wade, 1990). On Yahoo
Answers, “Does the media influence teenagers to get pregnant and to have abortions? ” was asked and one of
the responders, Ashley, replied that “…it does encourage them to be sexy- which then leads to sex and
pregnancy, and sometimes abortions. But the media is only partly to blame; the main problem is the attitude
of today’s society (2009)”. It is easy to research and find distasteful images and photographs from pro-life
sites.

The ultimate goal is generally to convince a woman out of an abortion or to make people feel that abortion is
murder. On the Maine Vitae site, mainerighttolife. com, there is a link to “Issues”. If you then click on a sub
link called “The Ugly Reality”, there are 9 pictures of aborted fetuses from 8 weeks to 24 weeks gestational
age (2010). It is relatively easy to find pro-choice images online, with a lot of the images including children
and woman stating that they are pro-choice. A major issue for most people is the idea of abortion as
contraception.

The Centers for Disease Control

The Centers for Disease Control released a statement on November 27, 2009, “Women should use
contraceptives, not abortion, to prevent unwanted pregnancies. A Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) study showed that 19-25% of women who received abortions in 2006 had previously had
one or more abortions” (2009). Religions often have an opinion that they provide as public knowledge on the
abortion debate. In the bible, the sixth commandment is “Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13, King James
Version)”.

The commandment is often used to explain why people believe that abortion is considered murder.
Traditional Buddhism teaches that life begins at conception and the fetus is “as entitled to the same moral
respect as an adult human being (Keown, 2004). In our research we also found medical doctors, citizens and
psychologists that are against abortion. Henry Sigerist gave his interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath’s
opinion on abortion; “The original text of the Hippocratic Oath, the oath that doctors traditionally take when
swearing to practice medicine ethically, forbids abortions.

One section of the oath reads: “I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion. ” The modern version
of the Hippocratic Oath written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna also forbids abortion in its line, “Above all, I must
not play at God” (1996). With his interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath, Henry Sigerist, shows that people
can form different interpretations from the same information. David C. Reardon, PhD, et al. also found that
women who aborted were 154% more likely to commit suicide than women who carried to term (2002).

Soc/100 Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Media Analysis

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Media Analysis Amy SOC/100 November 7, 2011 Robert Murray
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Media Analysis The show I chose is called The Big Bang Theory. The
show is a comedy show themed around a group of nerdy scientists who are neighbors with a beautiful
outgoing waitress. One of the nerds has a romantic interest in the neighbor but thinks he has no chance with
her as she is out of his league. There is definite social inequality here as the nerds see themselves below the
neighbor’s status in regards to relationships and finding love.

Some scenes that apply to the social theme are when you see all the “nerds” at work it is clear that they are
in the science field. There are microscopes, periodic tables, beakers, and math equations on chalk and dry
erase boards. The “nerds” defiantly dress the part of the nerd. One wears thick black rimmed glasses, another
is tall, skinny, and wears his t-shirts tucked into his pants. One of the nerds is from India and seems shy and
does not talk to any female counterpart, or any other female for that matter.

The last “nerd” has a bowl haircut and it seems he tries too hard to fit in with a crowd he will never fit into.
He wears leopard silk pajamas to bed and has a bowl haircut. There is defiantly a leader of the group as the
other nerds follow him around and he seems to do a bigger portion of the talking. The female neighbor is
very confident in the way she walks and dresses at times a bit provocatively. When the neighbor is around
the nerd with the glasses tends to get nervous and a bit looser in his posture.

He almost seems to cower to her, almost as if to hide from her when she is in a room. He clearly adores her
with the way he looks at her when she is around. He does talk to her however; she tends to dominate the
conversations. He seems to enjoy being around her and talking to her even though he is very nervous. The
female neighbor also surprisingly seems to enjoy talking to the nerd in the glasses as she isn’t as closed off
to him as she is with the others. She looks at him when he talks to her and she isn’t crossing her arms or
turning away from him.

It seems though that they do not hang out socially outside of their apartment building except for the times
the “nerds” eat at the restaurant the neighbor works at. In some of the situations I see the nerd with the
glasses and the neighbor it leads me to believe that something romantic will happen eventually. I think when
people look at relationships they tend to think each of the individuals as equals socially. Most people seem
to think that couples come from the same social circles and it is not often you would see a young beautiful
woman with a shy science nerd.

The same goes for say an older man or woman with a younger person. Many people would say it’s
inappropriate for older people to date those younger than them, while others think opposites attract. So when
it comes to the science nerd and the beautiful neighbor I hope they get the chance to have a relationship with
each other, maybe it will take them out of their norm and give them a chance to experience something new.
Things would be pretty boring if we were all the same and people didn’t shake things up a bit!

Using the Symbolic Interaction and the Cybernetics Theory

It is a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of
individuals. When we use symbolic-interaction theory with this movie we see how Michael is a homeless
teenager trying to fit in. We see when he goes to school he struggles to fit in and how he stays quiet
throughout the day. You can also use the S. I. theory on how Micheal when he was homeless he had ratty
clothes and not many personal belongings. A S. I. theorist would look at Michael and see how he doesn’t
have a bed and is staying in the Tuohy house on a couch as a symbol of homelessness and poverty.

Lastly when using this theory you see how the movie portrays and gives the homeless symbols of run down
houses and having drugs and illegal activity going on in the movie. For instance having no bed or personal
home for Michael Oher is a symbol of poverty. Perceptions “Humans act toward people based on the
meanings they assign to those people”. Most people within the context of the Blindside seemed to write off
Michael Oher. There were some who saw him as a young, African American male who was slow in the
head, poorly educated and unkempt.

Those would include, at least in the beginning of his time at the private school, most of his teachers and most
of the others students. Because they ascribed to Michael their own beliefs, they never gave him a chance to
reveal himself. There was an interesting piece that Michael wrote one day in class where he stated, I look
and I see white everywhere. White walls, white floors and a lot of white people. The teachers do not know I
have no idea of anything they are talking about. I do not want to listen to anyone especially the teachers.

They are giving homework and expecting me to do the problems on my own. I have never done homework
in my life. I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror and say “this is not Michael Oher. ” There was also
the group who wondered why Mrs. Touhy would take in Michael. This group mostly consisted of her tea-
time compatriots in the ritzy area of town. They were convinced that what Mrs. Touhy was doing “was so
nice” and asked her if it was another one of those “charities” of hers. They saw Michael as a one-way
recipient of charitable donations.

They saw Michael as a tax write-off. Because of their viewpoints, they never could quite understand that
Michael was changing Mrs. Tuohy’s life, and that she loved him. It tells how the Tuohy’s came to reach out
to Michael Oher and his life was changed, as was theirs. The movie was filled with excellent acting from all
members of the cast with Sandra Bullock leading the way. This is a movie you leave impacted emotionally.
The movie does show that it was not just the Tuohy’s involved in changing Michael’s life but many choices
along the way.

There was “Big Tony” Henderson, Mrs. Beasly, and Miss Sue all who made choices that helped Michael.
Now the reality is that the movie is powerful but the story alters from the facts to fit the director’s vision.
The full details of the story can be read in detail in Michael Lewis’s book: The Blind Side: Evolution of a
Game. A sampling of the story can be found in a . REFERENCES: Netter,G,Kosove,A. & Johnson,.
B(Producers) & Hancock,(Director). (2009) Blind Side: United States:Warner Bro Pictures.