The Social Construction of Serial Killers by Sex Worker Advocacy Groups
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2003 The serial murder of sex workers: The social construction of serial killers by sex worker advocacy groups Heidi Rebecca Charlotte Baker University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Baker, Heidi Rebecca Charlotte, "The serial murder of sex workers: The social construction of serial killers by sex worker advocacy groups" (2003). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4267. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/4267 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. In compliance with the Canadian Privacy Legislation some supporting forms may have been removed from this dissertation. While these forms may be included in the document page count, their removal does not represent any loss of content from the dissertation. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Serial Murder of Sex Workers: The Social Construction of Serial Killers by Sex Worker Advocacy Groups by Heidi Rebecca Charlotte Baker A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research through Sociology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2003 © Heidi Rebecca Charlotte Baker Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. National Library Bibliotheque nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisisitons et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 0-612-86712-9 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 0-612-86712-9 The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of theL'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither thedroit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts from Niit la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou aturement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Historic, academic and popular discourses on the serial murder of prostitutes have failed to incorporate the voices of victimized sex workers and their advocates. To fill this void, this thesis investigates how the serial murder of prostitutes is socially constructed by sex worker advocacy groups. Using standard content analysis techniques, it analyzes on-line texts generated by sex worker advocacy groups that are seeking to raise awareness of the victimization of sex workers by serial murderers. It additionally analyzes on-line news media accounts of these advocacy efforts beyond the Internet. Drawing on theoretical traditions of social constructionism, feminism and the sociology of social problems, the thesis finds that the social problem of the serial murder of prostitutes is socially constructed by advocates as a result of societal negligence that is based on the patriarchal foundations. In the examination of the serial killer, it was found that, contrary to claims in the literature, the serial killer is not a product of a psychological disorder but rather of a patriarchal society. Examination of the prostitute revealed that although the prostitute is not constructed as a victim-precipitator of violence, as commonly held in the literature. It was found that societal neglect, on behalf of the police, judicial system, media and public community systems, is responsible for the continuation of violence against prostitutes. The texts revealed that the prostitute is neglected as a victim primarily due to her semi legal, and “sub-human” status. In response to these constructions of prostitutes, advocacy groups attempt to reconstruct prostitutes as autonomous workers, as women, and as humans to promote their legal, victim and human rights. In conclusion, advocacy efforts have brought victimization of prostitutes to public attention and have been successful in promoting the prostitute as worthy victims. This thesis evidences sympathy from the public to the claims voiced by sex workers. Although these citizens represent the voice of iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a small minority’s public rhetoric, it evidences that the voices of sex workers has been heard. Hence, future research is necessary to examine the role of advocacy groups and the public in advancing the career of the social problem and policy responses. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my family and friends. To my parents, Bob and Charlotte. All my life, you have inspired me to be the best I can be, yet you have always encouraged the person I am. You have strengthened confidence in myself. Although I have had doubts along the way, I have kept going along the path to my goals with your enthusiastic encouragement. I want you to know how much your love, support and encouragement means to me. Thank-you for giving me the opportunities in my life to find happiness and success. You have given me the chance to make my dreams come true. To Himadri, my husband. Your passion and drive has inspired me to pursue my goals and transcend my borders of familiarity and safety to experience a new and wonderful world. I have enjoyed every moment of this adventure with you. To Ryan and Dione. Though we are family, you have been the greatest friends to me. Thank-you for all of the good times and for being there the times when I needed a friend to lean on. To Paige, Sebastien, and your new baby sibling. Your innocence has inspired me to help create a safe world in which you can grow free of harm and fear. To my grandmothers, Lillian and Ruby. Thank-you for sharing your love, faith, wisdom and laughter. Lastly, I dedicate this thesis to the memory of the women who have met with the ultimate darkness of violence. You will not be forgotten. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements I would like to express thanks and appreciation to Dr. Ruth Mann for providing direction, insight, encouragement and support throughout the research process. I would also like to thank Dr. Lippert and Dr. Virdi for participating on my thesis committee. Your contributions were significant and very much appreciated. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the authors of the texts included in this study. Their opinions, ideas and presentation of facts have contributed significantly to the research on the serial murder of prostitutes. VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Dedication v Acknowledgements vi List of Appendices ix CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THEORETICAL ORIENTATION 3 Social Constructionism 3 Feminist Theory 5 Social Construction of Social Problems 8 Blumer: Social Problems as Collective Behaviour 9 Spector and Kitsuse: Constructing Social Problems 10 HI. LITERATURE REVIEW 14 Social Problem of Serial Murder 14 Victimization of Prostitutes 21 Targeting of Prostitutes as Victims 21 The Blaming of Prostitute Victims 23 Feminism and Serial Murder 26 Patriarchal Foundations of Serial Murder 26 Serial Murder - Sexual Terrorism 29 Sex Worker Advocacy Solutions: Policy Change 30 Feminism and Action Agenda of Advocacy 32 Electronic Advocacy 32 Women’s Organizations on the Internet 34 Voices of the Marginalized in Cyberspace 34 Emotional Culture of Social Movements 36 Emotional Culture of Women’s Organizations 37 IV. METHOD 40 Content Analysis 40 Sampling - Rationale and Strategy 42 Unit of Analysis 44 Protocol 45 Data Collection 48 Data Analysis 49 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Subjective Dilemma of Content Analysis 50 V. FINDINGS 52 Foreword 52 Sex W orker Advocacy T exts 5 3 News