Our Pregnancy, My Choice: A Feminist Critique of Nerea

Abstract

The role of media in the fight for the rights of women across the globe is a major interest in contemporary scholarship. While Kenya as a country is making commendable steps towards lifting the status of women through legislation and education, gender equality remains elusive. Feminism has over the years sought to define and defend equal rights of women in social, economic and political spheres. One means to this end is to uncover ways in which dominance and oppression of women are often masked in aspects of our daily lives; through ideology passed down through generations in very subtle ways. This paper therefore uses critical discourse analysis to critique the portrayal of the woman in Nerea, a contemporary music video on abortion. The emphasis is on how patriarchal gender ideologies perpetuate oppressive stereotypical views on the place and role of women in society. This study therefore recommends that depictions of women in media and other social commentary be examined critically. It is often in very covert ways, some intended to achieve the contrary effect that the battle for gender equality is lost.