ABSTRACT
This chapter explores gendered stereotypes in media representations of women and crime. Women are frequently presented as victims in the news, but some forms of violence – such as sexual assault by strangers – are over-represented. Traditional news media is a key arena where women’s status as “ideal victims” has often been contested, with some victims garnering sympathy and others being blamed, with the delineation drawn with gendered assumptions about “good” and “bad” women. Violent women offenders, meanwhile, are often portrayed as more monstrous than their male counterparts, frequently with a focus on their (deviant) sexuality or their failures to embody normative femininity. This chapter explores the complexity of gendered media representations of crime using case studies from the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand media. It begins by outlining the representation of women in crime news, both as victims and as offenders. It discusses how these representations are not only gendered but racialised, before exploring the impacts of the shift towards digital media.
