a popstar explains what it really means to be pro-choice
"if you’re pro-choice, you have to be pro-choice always.”
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I cannot stop thinking about the TikTok that mega pop princess Zara Larsson posted about abortion a few weeks ago.
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I actually really loved this video – at risk of cliché, I thought it was incredibly refreshing to see someone this famous post something so honest (that would make most PR managers keel over and d*e). A couple of main thoughts/takeaways:
The joke she made that started this all was a little bit brutal, for sure (but also… funny). I fear this may be a good moment for us all to practice not canceling someone who’s with us to make ourselves feel more morally virtuous.
I LOVE that she dismissed the trolls immediately – I personally feel like if you don’t work in politics (and it isn’t your literal job to engage with voters and constituents across ideological spectrums), you have zero obligation to “debate” with people who don’t believe that you personally deserve access to full rights and freedoms, even if you’re a public figure like Zara is :) but maybe that’s just me.
She stream-of-concioused her way through the whole thing (like this did not seem planned at all – and if it was, that digital manager is operating on a different level), but she hit like seven crucial talking points within the orbit of reproductive rights, like contraception, sexual education, sex positivity, why women may seek care, etc.
But Zara’s main point here is that if you’re pro-choice, you don’t make any moralistic judgment about someone who gets an abortion. If it’s a really hard decision that sticks with someone for a long time, that’s 100% fine. If it’s a really easy decision that that person never thinks about again, that’s also 100% fine. Her exact quote is “No, baby, if you’re pro-choice, you have to be pro-choice always.” She then makes the case that being afraid, as pro-choice people, to speak openly about abortion and even joking about it just reinforces the taboo.
The result is one of the most salient and digestible explanations of pro-choice ideology that I’ve seen in a long time. And, importantly, it’s still live on her page (and has 7.4 million views and 1.4 million likes as of writing). And why is that important? Because most of the time that a pop culture icon is unapologetically pro-choice, Big Hollywood gets to them at some point. I always think about the Olivia Rodrigo GUTS tour (which, ofc, went through abortion deserts) where they planned to have Plan B available but got shut down.
I am sincerely hoping this shows other Dem-leaning pop culture figures (and their teams) that they don’t actually need to be so skittish about saying their real opinions online – they will get hate no matter what they do, so might as well show a little spine. Two potential wrinkles I see to this:
Zara Larsson is Swedish. I was at a talk recently where one of the panelists discussed how it can be really hard for Americans, despite our best efforts, to even visualize better alternatives for our current systems (a necessary step in catalyzing change) because we’ve always lived in a culture steeped in fear and divisiveness and “led” by a completely gridlocked Congress. I wonder how much Zara *not* being American allows her this broader perspective.
Zara Larsson really does not give a f*ck online to a unique extent. For example, this week, she posted a video about being addicted to watching videos of the fruit character AI slop that has generated millions and millions of views and also a TON of hate. (FWIW, Zara actually did take down that video after she was criticized for being pro-AI.) All that to say, Zara, as a cultural figure, seems to have the rare personality and team that are not at all risk-averse when it comes to the interest – I’m not sure how many people can replicate that, but I am fairly certain it’s more than we’ve currently got.
TL;DR, while we are seeing more “honest” political content from pop culture figures, which I commend, I still often get the sense that that content has been focus-grouped up the wazoo. I know the Internet can be a terrifying place… but for people with millions of followers and millions of dollars, I would really like to see more “risky” (read: less scripted, more actual personal perspective) content from them.
Whenever I write about repro, I try to always shout-out some of the amazing people and orgs doing direct work in the space like Abortion, Every Day from Jessica Valenti and Kylie Cheung, EC 4 DC, and National Network of Abortion Funds!