Submission Date
7-21-2022
Document Type
Paper- Restricted to Campus Access
Department
Media & Communication Studies
Faculty Mentor
Katie Quanz
Project Description
Crimes are often difficult for us to comprehend, as they exist outside of social norms. However, female offenders doubly challenge our understanding due to gender stereotypes. In accordance with George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s work, the media tends to use metaphors to categorize the incomprehensible, including female criminals. After analyzing the nicknames, descriptions, and adjectives used to describe nine diverse women, I identified a pattern involving three categories for females accused of crimes: the “good-girl-gone-bad,” the “criminal mother,” and the “crazy woman.” The present research defines what criteria need to be met to belong to a category, and how intersectionality impacts the categorization of female criminals.
Recommended Citation
Rubinkam, Natalie, "“Foxy Knoxy,” the “White Widow,” and Beyond: How Do Media Descriptions of Female Criminals Shape Our Understanding of the Unimaginable?" (2022). Media and Communication Studies Summer Fellows. 23.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/media_com_sum/23
Restricted
Available to Ursinus community only.
Comments
Presented during the 24th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 22, 2022 at Ursinus College.