What You See is What They Want You to See: South African Newspaper Constructions of Female Offenders

van Zijl, Carla

What You See is What They Want You to See: South African Newspaper Constructions of Female Offenders

Master Thesis

2022

Abstract

Although female-perpetrated crime is a significant minority of overall crime statistics, the media are ready to capitalise on these stories and often resort to sensationalist reporting which results in the misrepresentation of female criminality. Many researchers have highlighted how the media portrays woman offenders and their stories and the effects of such portrayals, however, this has not been done in South Africa. This study aimed to identify how South African newspapers construct female perpetrators and how this may change across different crime types. Thematic analysis was applied to a sample of 160 newspaper articles covering the stories of 24 female offenders representing four different crime types. It was found that South African newspapers used at least 10 different narratives to depict women in conflict with the law. Additionally, it was found that South African newspapers sensationalised the stories of female offenders of violent crimes and crimes against children more than perpetrators of financial and drug-related crimes. The study concludes that South African newspapers reinforce gender-role stereotyping and perpetuate the misrepresentation of female offenders thereby influencing news consumers' perceptions and beliefs about female criminality.