Violence and Men
SOCI0067: Crime and the Media
Lecture 6
Dr. L. Cho, PhD
E-mail: Lifcho@gmail.com
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
Individual Journals FAQ

Q1. How many journals do I have to
do?
A1. You must do the first and last weekly journals (that is,
Week 1 and Week 13). As for the remaining weeks,
choose six of them to write journals on. You should end
up with 8 journals in total.


Q2. Is there a difference between a
journal and a mini-essay?
A2. Yes, a journal is a lot more personal in its style of
writing and thus, thoughts may be more “raw” in that they
may not be as developed and supported as in an essay.
The use of the personal pronoun, “I”, carries a lot more
weight and meaning in a journal and is encouraged;
whereas an essay would strive for a more reasoned
position and removal of the self from the thought process.
In this way, the journals are more “self-oriented” and
personal thoughts are not as discouraged, but they must
still fall within an acceptable range of comprehensibility
and relevance. Creativity, in this way, is measured by
your ability to adapt the resources provided for you
throughout this course to come up with an angle that is
insightfully yours.
See our course blog for details: http://soci0067.wordpress.com/
Examine Masculine
Images of Crime
Perpetrated in the Media
Are you
talking to
me?!
News Appeal of Violence





Articles on crime read consistently by
a greater percentage of subscribers
(24-26%) (Surette 1992)
Least common form of crime are
reported most (e.g. murder)
Due to rarity, lend to graphic and
sensationalistic coverage (sells
papers!)
US Stats: Murder constitutes 0.2% of
crime. 26.2% of crime news cover
murders
Example: Virginia Tech Coverage –
only 10 homicides annually on college
campus vs 1,000 suicides. Suicides
get little coverage.
Source: Websdale, N. and A. Alvarez. (1998)
Gap Between Media Representation
and the Reality of Gender and Crime
(Official Crime Stats)
Consequences and
Problems
Mapping Gender Narratives in
Press Reports of Violence



The Times, The
Guardian, The Sun
and The Daily Mirror
6 months study
(February and July
1992)
7 million readers
Sex of Offenders
NEWS REPORTS
72.9% male offender
21.3% female offender
POLICE STATS
Guilty or cautioned for indictable
offences of violence
85.5% male offender
14.5% Female offenders
Homicide
88.8% Male Offender
11.2% Female Offenders
Source: Naylor (2001)
Sex of Offender and Victim
NEWS REPORTS
55.1% Female victim/victims
47.3% Male victim
POLICE STATS
38.6% Female victim
61.4% Male victim
Source: Naylor (2001)
Homicide Registry in HK
(1989 to 1997)
Relationship
Number
Percent
Stranger
186
35%
Unknown
114
21%
Work Related
64
12%
Family/Relatives
63
12%
Neighbor/Friend
54
10%
Spouse/Lover
51
10%
532
100%
Total


Over 90% of
offenders identified
were male
About 70% of victims
were male
Source: Broadhurst (1999) as presented in http://www.crime.hku.hk/rb-homicide.htm
HK Murder Offenders (2007):
Male 21 versus Female 4
Source: http://www.police.gov.hk/review/2005/pdf/appendix_7.pdf
Secondary Enquiry
How are men portrayed in
relation to crime and violence
in the media?
As victims and as offenders?
Columbine Shooting (show clip)





April 20, 1999
Two high school seniors Eric
Harris and Dylan Klebold
15 minute shooting spree
killed 13 people and
wounded 21 others
Police found unexploded
bombs throughout the
school
They were two weeks away
from graduation
Columbine Shooting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ13CZ4Hekg&feature=related
The Monster Next Door:
Media Constructions of
Boys and Masculinity
Case Study on the
Columbine Shooting
Source: Consalvo, M. Feminist Media Studies; Mar2003, Vol. 3 Issue 1, p27, 19p
Few Studies on Men and the Media



Studies exploring
gender in news
coverage tend to focus
on women
Document how women
are often portrayed as
victims of male
violence
Many studies on Black
men, where race is the
main focus
Studying Media Construction of
Men in Crime News
Why it is important:
 Reliance on the media
for understanding
crime
 Media plays important
role in creating a
reality about criminal
victimization
 Creating reality of the
social institutions to
“deal with it”
Representation of Young Boys


Gender as a
process being
refined and modified
Masculinity is
relational (it comes
into existence as
people acts and
interacts)
Study Method






One week of news coverage
following the Columbine school
shooting collected and
analyzed
News Broadcast ABC, CBS,
CNN, NBC
Magazines: Time, Newsweek,
US News & World Report
News articles and editorials:
Denver Rocky Mountain News
New York Times
Looking for overall picture
Research Questions:
Include:
 What are the central
themes emphasized
by the media
outlets?
 Was masculinity an
issue in the
coverage? If so,
how?
Social Construction of Gender



Ascribing particular traits to
particular sexes without
corresponding to reality
Gender is a daily enactment
that individuals engage in
Judged by others (Butler
1993)


The notion of masculinity is
social
It comes into existence as
people act and live in
everyday life (Connell 1998)
Media Construction of Gender





Constructions are fluid
Changes over time
Responds to and challenged
by social norms
Media scholars can analyze
how media construct
masculinity in a particular
time and place
How media portrays various
forms of the masculine

Example: Domestic
Violence, Rape
Multiple Masculinities



There are multiple
representations of
men and masculinities
These forms are made
to seem natural and
inevitable
They become
ideological and “transhistorical”
Representations of what it means
to “be a man” in US Society
Studies on fictional/
entertainment
portrayals of men
 Beer commercials
 Instruct men on how
to socialize and drink
alcohol
 Men in advertising
 Male friendships on
TV
Multiple Masculinity Hierarchy
Higher Social Standing
 Heterosexual
 White men
 Middle class
 White collar
 Jocks (athletes)
Lower Social Standing
 Gay
 Men of color
 Working class
 Blue collar
 Geeks
The Ideal/Dominant
Version: Hegemonic
Masculinity
What is Conventional
Notions of Masculinity?
See: Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the
Crisis in Masculinity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI
Tough Guise (Jackson 1999)




Linking masculinity with
violence
Making violence appear to
be a “genetically
programmed” male
behaviour
Associating “muscles” with
“masculinity”
Equating “heroic
masculinity” with “violence
masculinity”

Applies well to fictional and
sporting representation of
hegemonic masculinity
(male action movie hero)

Limitations: Most boys and
men do not commit criminal
acts of violence
Initial Coverage of Media
(Consalvo 2003):
Emphasized
 Demonized specific
media forms: video
games, internet
 Singling out and
harassing “different kids”
across the U.S.
 Suddenly deemed as
“dangerous”
Ignored
 Hegemonic masculinty
 School culture (high
school cliques,
harassment of nerds)
Monsters Next Door




Media coverage
initially portrayed
Klebold and Harris as
sick or deviant
Monsters, therefore
not reflective of society
at large
Boys were framed as
monsters
Monsters are not
gendered creatures
Construction of Gender Ignored



Masculinity and its
variable constructions
largely ignored
Reality of hierarchical
masculinity in school
glossed over (nerds,
geeks, bullying in
school)
Masculinity as a
system remained
unexplored
Other Studies (Naylor 2001)


Significant
difference in
“nature” and
“intensity” of
reporting of violence
by men and by
women
Different
explanatory
narratives employed
British Print Media (Naylor 2001)



Main national British
papers
65% of crime
reporting deals with
personal violence
6% of police stat
deals with personal
violence
Mapping Gender Narratives in
Press Reports of Violence



The Times, The
Guardian, The Sun
and The Daily Mirror
6 months study
(February and July
1992)
7 million readers
Patterns of Stories


Who are the stories
about?
What are the
reports about?
Differences in Reporting
Women’s violence
 Irrational or emotional
 In high profile cases,
women presented as
“wicked”
Men’s violence
 Rational
 Normal
Sex of Offenders
NEWS REPORTS
72.9% male offender
21.3% female offender
POLICE STATS
14.5% Female offenders found
guilty or cautioned for indictable
offences of violence
11.2% Female offenders convicted
of Homicide
Source: Naylor (2001)
Sex of Offender and Victim
NEWS REPORTS
55.1% Female victim/victims
47.3% Male victim
POLICE STATS
38.6% Female victim
61.4% Male victim
Irony: News reporting rate may be
closer to “true” rate of victimization
due to low rate reporting of
domestic violence
However, majority stories of
violence to women are not about
domestic violence
Source: Naylor (2001)
Stories Involving Male
Offenders: Emerging Themes
Theme 1: Men’s sexual
violence to women
Theme 2: Men’s violence
to women who are
strangers to them
Theme 3: Violence to
strangers generally
Stories Involving Male Offenders



Highly sexualized
Individualized
representation
Parallel
pornographic
voyeuristic
representations
Stranger Danger





Draw on narratives
about particular kinds
of masculinity
Violent pornography
Reiterating a discourse
about masculine
violence as a ‘natural
force’
Random and inevitable
Normalize violence
Story Narratives:
Points of Comparison
Male Violence
 Malicious aggression
 Portrayed in a routine
manner (larger number of
small articles)
 Normalize violence
 More rational and
Opportunistic/
instrumental (e.g. killing
while robbing a bank)
 Details of weapons used
Female Violence
 In the context of intimate
caring relationship
 Higher volume and larger
articles (in these 3
categories)
 More in need of
explanation
 Explanations about
emotion, madness,
irrationality
Points of Comparison
SCMP Feb 23, 2009 A8
Male Perpetrator
Female Perpetrator
How Do Media Portrayals
Reflect/Reinforce
Conventional Notions of
Masculinity
In what ways do they
parallel current concerns
and understandings about
masculinity
News Media Portrayals of Physical
Attractiveness
Male
 Few details
Female
 Featured in high profile
cases
 Unnatural, large, stocky,
heavy built,
 Demure, pretty, attractive
Source: Content analysis of UK media (news & film) from 1945 to 1990 (Reiner 1997)
News Media Portrayal:
Domestic Violence Case
Male
 Rarely a moral implication
 Evaluated in relation to
how well he fits into
conventional masculine
role
 Motivate related to
jealousy, depression, her
“nagging” personality
Female
 Bad wife
 Not conforming to
traditional feminine
notions
 Kills husband because of
his abusiveness
 Portrayed as having
provoked his abusiveness
Source: Content analysis of UK media (news & film) from 1945 to 1990 (Reiner 1997)
News Media Portrayal:
Child Abuse Cases
Male
 Rarely portrayed as “bad
dad”
 Even when men abuse
children, mother is
blamed for not taking
control
 Research shows she too
is a victim of abuse
Female
 Likely portrayed as “bad
mom”
 Violation of conventional
gender role as caregiver
 Considered a “monster”
in cases involving death
of child
Source: Content analysis of UK media (news & film) from 1945 to 1990 (Reiner 1997)
News Media Images of Murder





Men’s violence
explained away as:
Depressed by
unemployment
Work stress
Challenge to honor
Mediated by alcohol


Moral implications
are often omitted
We are not
exceptionally
shocked by male
aggression or
question masculinity
In Sum
News mediated images of
men and violence reinforce
stereotypes of dominant
masculinity