Article
The Post-Nuclear Family and the Depoliticization of Unplanned Pregnancy in Juno, Knocked Up, and Waitress
Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies
(2010)
Abstract
This essay explores three films from 2007, Knocked Up, Juno, and Waitress, which foreground young women's unplanned pregnancies. These movies depoliticize women's reproduction and motherhood through narratives that rearticulate the meaning of choice. Bypassing the subject of abortion, the women's decisions revolve around their choice of heterosexual partners and investment in romantic relationships. Although they question the viability of the nuclear family for single pregnant women, these films represent new iterations of post-feminism that ultimately restore conservative ideas that valorize pregnancy and motherhood as women's imperatives. We conclude by addressing how these movies present a distorted and short-sighted depiction of the politics of reproductive agency and the challenges that single mothers face.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2010
Publisher Statement
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Citation Information
Kristen Hoerl and Casey R. Kelly. "The Post-Nuclear Family and the Depoliticization of Unplanned Pregnancy in Juno, Knocked Up, and Waitress" Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies (2010) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/casey_kelly/2/