A distressing and peculiar disease: endometriosis in the Australian Press 1949–2011

Abstract

This study explores how endometriosis has been represented and framed historically in the Australian press. Analysis of 80 articles published between 1949 and 2011 was conducted. Articles were examined for their framing, themes, and voices in a decade-by-decade format. Results found that endometriosis was overwhelmingly framed as a comorbidity to infertility during this timeframe, and experts were commonly sourced compared to patients with the disease. Medical treatments for the disease were also published heavily. Little focus was put on endometriosis as a standalone medical issue until the 1980s. The ways in which this disease is presented in the media may have an impact on general knowledge and understanding of endometriosis, both for patients and the wider public.