Every place and context is different, to be sure. But the things I learned from the Irish and Argentinian campaigns to legalize abortion are absolutely on my mind here and now. /1
In Ireland, for example, the embrace of the 3 c's: care, compassion and change, none of which was choice. This core slogan contextualizes abortion as something a desirable society has - it seizes the moral high ground. Choice emerges from a libertarian - individual frame. /2
That story here: wordstowinby-pod.com/together-for-y…
And from Argentina, the interplay of multiple messages - one to engage the base and move them to repetition, another to persuade the conflicted, and a third that unabashedly marginalized the opposition. Yet all coherent thanks to echoed symbology. /4
The base message? "La revolución de las hijas" and the pañuelos verdes, an emblem that attaches back to the white kerchiefs the Madres de la Plaza wore - to the relentless mobilization of older generations of women against the previous dictatorship. /5
The persuasion message? "Salvemos miles de vidas" "we'll save thousands of lives" delivered by medical care providers from the provinces, where folks were far more conflicted/on fence than in the city. Reclaiming "life." /6
And marginalizing oppo? Neon green glowing coat hangers, again same color as kerchiefs, out in all the marches. And then hanging the names of the Senators who had voted "no" the first time in the square in front on Congress. /7
That story here in English: wordstowinby-pod.com/they-planted-f…
Y aqui en español: wordstowinby-pod.com/nos-sembraron-…
Follow up responses on "choice": Even in hyper individual US, shown in testing to be ineffective. It activates stereotyping b/c "choice" normally used for simple, consumer decisions (decaf or caf, skim or whole). Signals a decision made lightly, not of consequence.
As Reproductive Justice leaders & scholars have argued, "choice" ignores the *economic* elements of issue - what good is the "right" to abortion if you can't actually access it because of money/time/hurdles?
Further, "choice" and whole "get gov't out" libertarian framework paved way for not just Hyde Amendment but entire notion that kids are basically like pets - privately owned "products" that are only responsibility of their guardians.
"Why should I pay for X, you chose to have that child?" argument rests upon idea that parenting (and not parenting) is wholly individual issue. Ditto "school choice" aka privatization of public education.
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