Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Jun 2023 Open Access

Infertile Exclusions: Countering Race-Based Hyperfertility Narratives Online

Laura McCann Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract

Women of color are more likely to experience infertility compared to white women. Despite this likelihood, infertility continues to be associated with whiteness. This study examines the historical and modern influences of the hyperfertility narrative, a pervasive master narrative linking race and reproduction. Studying Instagram posts about infertility and race, McCann argues that women of color have had to fight for their very inclusion within infertility identities, illustrating the continued rhetorical salience that dominant narratives of race and reproductive enforce within support-seeking environments like Instagram. Specifically, this study demonstrates how WOCr rhetors counter hyperfertility by co-constructingnew counternarratives that frame experiences of infertility through experiences with race and racism. These counternarratives involve three empowerment strategies: witnessing, visual counterstorying, and attribution. By studying how marginalized rhetors counter hyperfertility narratives, the study illustrates a kind of invitational knowledge-building that occurs within histories of race and reproduction. Overall, this work pushes scholars and practitioners in reproductive care to acknowledge how racial identities, and perhaps personhood itself, is de/valued around and through reproductive abilities.

Journal
Rhetoric of Health and Medicine
Published
2023-06-09
DOI
10.5744/rhm.2023.6008
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
rhetorical criticism social media race and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (0)

No references on file for this article.

CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Jan 2026
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy graduate education two-year college teacher development social media race and writing gender and writing affect and writing literary studies editorial matter
  2. Philosophy & Rhetoric Apr 2025
    Introduction: On the Desirability of Speaking to Others ↗
    Nirvana Tanoukhi; Nicholas Dunn
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument social media race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric literary studies editorial matter
  3. Pedagogy Apr 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism african american rhetorics cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing graduate education two-year college teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions digital rhetoric multimodality social media literacy studies race and writing gender and writing community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  4. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2025
    Political Mourning: Identity and Responsibility in the Wake of Tragedy ↗
    Kimberley Hannah-Prater
    rhetorical criticism archival research social media race and writing gender and writing affect and writing editorial matter
  5. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Sep 2024
    Caught on Tape: White Masculinity and Obscene Enjoyment ↗
    Olivia Gellar
    rhetorical criticism qualitative research digital rhetoric social media race and writing gender and writing editorial matter