Media Representations of Female Offenders

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Bexson, L 2011, The ultimate betrayal female child sex offenders: An exploration of theories, media representations and the role of the internet in relations to female perpetrators of child sexual abuse, Bachelor Thesis, Nottingham Trent University.

The purpose of Laura Besxon’s dissertation is to examine the motives that prompted some females to perpetrate child abuse. Additionally, the author examines how journalists tend to portray these women. The author argues that the representatives of mass media pay more attachment to sexual offenses committed by women (Bexson 2011, p. 20). This argument is relevant to my research which is also supposed to examine the media portrayal of sex offenders. This situation can be explained by the gender stereotypes according to which women are “innately protective and caring toward children” (Bexson 2011, p. 2). The author believes that gender stereotypes play an important role because similar crimes committed by men do not attract the same attention and hostility. The scholar relies on library-based research, namely content analysis. This technique is suitable when it is necessary to study a series of publications on a certain topic. She examines a wide range of journals, textbooks, websites, newspapers, and other publications (Bexson 2011, p. 20). Laura Besxon ensures objective evaluation of media reports by selecting articles from various newspapers (Bexson 2011). Therefore, this dissertation is reliable enough to be used in a research paper. The main strength of this source is that the writer combines valid theoretical models with a detailed study of primary sources. Yet, the scholar does not provide any quantitative evidence to substantiate her hypothesis. This is the main limitation of this dissertation. However, this source can be used as one of the starting points for the research, especially the theoretical discussion of gender stereotypes.

Chiotti, J 2009, The “elusive” female sex offender: A quantitative content analysis of media exposure, PhD Thesis, Washington State University, Web.

The main goal of Jennifer Chiotti’s dissertation is to determine whether the sexual crimes committed by women attract more attention from the mass media. Furthermore, the author attempts to understand whether the media portrayal of female sex offenders can be explained by the stenotypes about gender roles. These two questions are important for explaining journalists’ hostility toward female sex offenders. The topic of this dissertation is similar to the questions that I want to discuss. Jennifer Chiotti demonstrates that the media descriptions of female sex offenders can shape the policies related to such crimes. The scholar argues the hostile representation of female-sex offenders is related to the patriarchal stereotypes according to which a woman can only be the victim of violence and abuse, rather than the person who perpetrates it (Chiotti 2009, p. 106). This information can be used in my paper because it explains the way in which mass media treat the female perpetrators of child abuse.

The author employs quantitative and qualitative research methods to show how journalists approach sex offenses that could be committed by females. In particular, one can speak about such a technique as quantitative content analysis. The scholar examines more than 1800 cases, and this sample is representative of the entire population. Therefore, this scholar’s work can be viewed as a reliable one. The main strength of this text is that it examines various characteristics of female sex offenders such as their socio-economic status, race, mental illness, substance abuse, and so forth (Chiotti 2009).

Yet, this work could have been improved provided that the scholar gave some examples of media reports related to sex offenses. For instance, the scholar might have incorporated the texts of media reports. The study can incorporate into my research, especially in the section where I will examine the causes of media hostility to female sex offenders.

Landor, R., & Eisenchlas, S 2012, ‘“Coming Clean” on the duty of care: Australian print media’s representation of male versus female sex offenders in institutional contexts’, Sexuality & Culture, vol. 16. no. 4, pp. 486-502.

The goal of the study by Roland Landour and Suisana Eisenchlas (2012) is to discuss the linguistic means used by journalists in order to describe male and female sex offenders. The scholars argue that media tend to describe women, who perpetrated sex offenses, in a hostile or derisive way. This argument is relevant to my research that is aimed at examining the media portrayal of female perpetrators. In order to investigate the main research questions, the researchers conducted a content analysis of twenty-nine articles from different publications (Landor & Eisenchlas 2012, p. 487). The scholars examine different questions but the main point is that mass media cannot accept a woman in the role of a criminal, let alone a sex offender. This attitude originates from sexual stereotypes, according to which women can only be the victims of males. The main strength of this work is that the scholars provide very vivid examples of newspaper headlines showing the derisive representation of women. In turn, the main limitation is that the sample includes only 29 articles, while it is possible to find more articles.

This article can be used in my research paper; for instance, it is possible to use the examples of medial headlines that can show the media’s hostility to female perpetrators of child abuse.

Storrs, E 2004 ‘Our scapegoat: An exploration of media representations of Myra Hindley and Rosemary West’, Theology and Sexuality, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 9-28.

In her article, Elisabeth Storrs (2004) studies the two cases of women who were accused of a felony. In particular, one should speak about Myra Hindley and Rosemary West. The main task is to examine the concept of a scapegoat from a sociological perspective. The author focuses on the theoretical models which show how a person can be turned into a “scapegoat” by mass media or government officials (Storrs 2004, p. 10). By mentioning these models in my research paper, I will better explain biased media representation of women who committed child abuse. Furthermore, she argues that there is a lack of feminine discourse on violent crimes that may be committed by women. The scholar relies on such a research method as literature review, and this data-collection technique is suitable when one has to write a survey article. The main conclusion is that journalists should eliminate gender biases when reporting the crimes committed by females. This conclusion can be relevant to my research provided that I try to make recommendations to the work of mass media.

The main strength of this source is that it offers an in-depth theoretical explanation of how a person can be turned into a grotesque villain by mass media. This information can help to show why mass media can create a negative image of women. In turn, the main limitation of this work is that it does not contain any empirical evidence that can better substantiate the author’s claims. Overall, this source is closely tied to such concepts as victimhood of women and their gender roles. This academic work is helpful since it shows how gender stereotypes influence journalists’ portrayal of females who perpetrators child abuse.

Winter, J 2009, ‘The Truth Will Out? The role of judicial advocacy and gender in verdict construction’, Social and Legal Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 343-367.

The aim of Jo Winter’s (2009) study is to examine the role of judicial summing during the trials of Rose West and Myra Hindley. In particular, the author focuses on the way in which a judge can shape the opinions of the jury by providing his/her evaluation and narrative of the case. The importance of these narratives should be mentioned in my research paper because journalists also offer their evaluation of a crime. Additionally, the author demonstrates that legal professionals can present a biased narrative of the criminal case by focusing on the gender of the suspect, rather than his/her actions. The main research method used by Jo Winter is the textual analysis of two speeches made by judges during the trials. Yet, this research method cannot be used to make generalizations. The main point is that legal professionals are also vulnerable to biases, even though, they have to remain impartial.

The main strength of this work is that it provides a detailed analysis of how legal professionals can use various rhetoric strategies in order to convince the audience. I can mention this issue in my research paper in order to compare the biases of journalists and lawyers. The main weakness of Jo Winter’s study is that the findings cannot be generalized since the scholar focuses only on two trials. This source can be used to demonstrate that biased representation of women in mass media can lead to unethical practices of legal professionals.

References

Chiotti, J 2009, The “illusive” female sex offender: A quantitative content analysis of media exposure, PhD Thesis, Washington State University, Web.

Landor, R., & Eisenchlas, S 2012, ‘“Coming Clean” on duty of care: Australian print media’s representation of male versus female sex offenders in institutional contexts’, Sexuality & Culture, vol. 16. no. 4, pp. 486-502.

Storrs, E 2004 ‘Our scapegoat: An exploration of media representations of Myra Hindley and Rosemary West’, Theology and Sexuality, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 9-28.

Winter, J 2009, ‘The Truth Will Out? The role of judicial advocacy and gender in verdict construction’, Social and Legal Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 343-367.

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Media Representations of Female Offenders

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