“I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the experience”: a narrative analysis of Chrissy Teigen’s social media describing her miscarriage

Abstract

In August 2020, celebrity Chrissy Teigen shared on social media that she was pregnant with her third child. The following month, Teigen used social media to document her pregnancy complications. On September 30, 2020, Teigen posted five black and white photographs via Instagram that chronicled the emotional and physical pain of a miscarriage. One month later, Teigen published an online essay describing the circumstances surrounding her miscarriage and explaining the importance of documenting her experience. By using narrative criticism, this study describes the rhetorical features, specifically the characters, settings, and medium, to explain how Teigen, using social media, sparked a national conversation about miscarriage and the need for compassion and awareness. This analysis discusses the implications of using technology in removing the shroud of silence and stigma that exists around miscarriage in American culture.