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Media Depictions of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2016 You Will Be Punished: Media Depictions of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Caitlin Elliott Wilfrid Laurier University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Criminology Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Elliott, Caitlin, "You Will Be Punished: Media Depictions of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women" (2016). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1863. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1863 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. YOU WILL BE PUNISHED: MEDIA DEPICTIONS OF MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN By Caitlin A. Elliott B.A. (Honours), University of New Brunswick, 2014 THESIS Submitted to the Department of Criminology In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Arts (Criminology) Wilfrid Laurier University © Caitlin A. Elliott 2016 YOU WILL BE PUNISHED 2 Abstract The following thesis focuses on media depictions of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, a list that carries upwards of 1,200 names. The news coverage of these stories is reminiscent of television crime dramas in their depictions of minority victims of crime, specifically in regard to victim blaming. In order to examine this relationship, the present study compares coverage of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canadian news articles to depictions of victims, particularly minority female victims, within crime procedural television shows. An ethnographic content analysis (ECA) was conducted in order to parse out common themes between news articles featuring missing and murdered Indigenous women (N = 50) and television crime drama episodes (N = 65) from Law & Order: SVU (N = 37), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (N = 17), and Criminal Minds (N = 13). The overarching message portrayed within these forms of media is the importance of conforming to social mores. Both forms of media act as morality plays depicting the harm that will come to women if they transgress society’s definition of ‘appropriate’ behaviour. These morality plays are aimed at white women in order to protect their virtue and stifle female sexual agency. These morality plays act as a way to enforce and engrain hegemony within society. YOU WILL BE PUNISHED 3 Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Lauren Eisler for all of your support during this project. This would not have been possible without your encouragement, ideas, and reassurance along the way. I could not have asked for a better advisor and I appreciate all you have done for me over the past two years. You are an inspiration. I would also like to thank my second reader, Dr. Andrew Welsh. Your guidance and help throughout this process has been immensely helpful and appreciated. This thesis would not have been achievable without the two of you. I would also like to thank my external examiner, Dr. Vanessa Oliver for your comments and suggestions. Your expertise in this area and insights were immensely helpful. Secondly, to my mother, I would like to thank you for all of your support and encouragement throughout my entire educational career. Thank you for being a sounding board and my own personal cheerleader. I would not be half the student/woman I am today without you. Third, I would like to thank my partner Kyle Caloren for being my rock during this process. Thank you for the late nights, early mornings and for keeping me motivated and caffeinated. I cannot thank you enough for all you and the rest of the Caloren clan have done for me. I would like to thank Alyssa Hine and Kassandra Weatherbey who have always been in my corner. Thank you for being another sounding board, providing useful edits and talking through problems with me. I cannot describe how grateful I am. Finally, I would like to thank the Criminology Department for accepting me into this program and for the encouragement provided by the professors in the department. I would also like to thank Marg Harris for being our de facto den mother. You have always provided a listening ear and a supportive hug when needed. YOU WILL BE PUNISHED 4 Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................3 Chapter One: Introduction and Research Problem.......................................................6 Chapter Two: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework..................................10 Social Constructionism......................................................................................................11 News Media.......................................................................................................................14 Infotainment...........................................................................................................15 Claims-making, Newsworthiness and News Frames.............................................16 Traditional Gender Roles...................................................................................................17 Racial Stereotypes..............................................................................................................20 Theoretical Paradigms.......................................................................................................21 Critical Race and Whiteness Theories...................................................................22 Intersectional Feminism.........................................................................................24 Media Tropes.....................................................................................................................28 Sex Work...............................................................................................................29 Homelessness and Addiction.................................................................................30 Zones of Degeneracy.............................................................................................31 Forensics................................................................................................................32 Perpetrators............................................................................................................33 Police.....................................................................................................................34 Infotainment and Police Procedurals.................................................................................36 Crime Dramas....................................................................................................................37 Science...................................................................................................................38 Morality Plays........................................................................................................39 Purpose...............................................................................................................................40 Chapter Three: Methodology.........................................................................................42 Research Design.................................................................................................................42 Themes...............................................................................................................................46 Political References...............................................................................................46 Victims...................................................................................................................48 Space......................................................................................................................50 Police.....................................................................................................................50 Perpetrators and Suspects......................................................................................51 Reference to Real Case..........................................................................................52 Chapter Four: Data Analysis..........................................................................................53 Family Structure.................................................................................................................54 Sexism/Sex Work..............................................................................................................63 Racial Representation........................................................................................................66 Objectification of Bodies...................................................................................................71 YOU WILL BE PUNISHED 5 Police Conduct...................................................................................................................74 Hierarchy of Victims..........................................................................................................78
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