The first documentary to examine abortion and birth control from the perspective of African Americans, Silent Choices offers a complex look at why Black women’s relationship with abortion is so fraught. Stereotyped in dominant discourse as “hypersexual” and “irresponsible,” Black women are made to feel the burden of “representing” as well as maintaining the race in the context of a centuries-long attempt to control Black people’s reproduction. Silent Choices features extended interviews with three women who have had abortions, as well as two women who are strongly anti-abortion; interviews with a half-dozen scholars and political and religious leaders rounds out the analysis. Visit the New Day Films website for additional information about Silent Choices.
Issue 9.1-9.2 | Fall 2010/Spring 2011 — Critical Conceptions: Technology, Justice, and the Global Reproductive Market
Silent Choices
A Film by Faith Pennick