Please circulate
'Expressions of Blame: Narratives of Battered Women Who Kill, in the Twentieth Century Daily Express'
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Expressions-Blame-Narratives-Battered-Twentieth/dp/3639192575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255358255&sr=8-1
The Daily Express reporting of battered women who kill uses framing borrowed from popular contemporary entertainment narratives, which have included melodramatic theatre and silent film, clue-puzzle novels, film noir and reality-crime television. Its representations of the guilt or innocence of these women are shaped by these stories, which accord with the newspaper's political views and express its gender politics. It has preserved conservative, traditional ideologies of womanhood to the extent that the virgin-victim is held as a virtuous figure at both ends of the century. It has supported anti-feminist discourse by remaining a sellable product, during both main feminist social movements, whilst circulating anti-feminist and traditionally gendered images that are viewed from the male gaze. The permanence of this male gaze suggests that attempts to blame feminisation as a cause of tabloidisation are misapplied and the culprit is instead the drive to entertain for monetary gain.
Dr. J. Sadie Clifford, M.A.
School of Journalism, Media and Communication Studies,
Cardiff University.
Tel: +442920 877335
email: [log in to unmask]
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