Misconceptions: a multimodal study of Danish contraception information

Abstract

With sexually transmitted infections (STIs) on the rise, recent reports have revealed ignorance and inequality in matters of sexual health among young people in Denmark. In this article, the authors use a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis approach to examine the use and functions of visual resources in Danish sexual health communication. They focus on the role visuals play in communicating content and framing certain reader identities, which may indicate possible connections between the nature of the available information and the findings of the reports. In the material that is available, they find that the visual information is inconsistent and unclear in relation to representations of different contraceptives and their use. Moreover, they find a tendency to foreground normative assumptions with representations of heterosexuality and gender inequality persisting in the contraception information and the responsibility for contraception predominantly falling to the woman.