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Framing Slutwalk: a Comparison Between Newspapers and Feminist Blogs

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Framing Slutwalk: a Comparison Between Newspapers and Feminist Blogs FRAMING SLUTWALK: A COMPARISON BETWEEN NEWSPAPERS AND FEMINIST BLOGS By RUIPENG WANG A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 © 2016 Ruipeng Wang To my Mom ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank Dr. Walsh-Childers for her guidance throughout the process. She provided me with steadfast patience and support. I thank Dr. Babanikos and Dr. Chen for their wiliness to share their wisdom with me. I would also like to thank my parents and sister for their love and support. And I thank my friends Shuang Song and Jiman Xu for their caring and encouragement. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 7 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 Third Wave Feminism ............................................................................................. 12 Sexual Violence and Rape ...................................................................................... 15 Rape Myths ............................................................................................................. 17 Rape Is a Sexual Act ........................................................................................ 18 It Is Not Really Rape ........................................................................................ 20 Victim Blaming .................................................................................................. 21 Victim characteristics ................................................................................. 21 Observer characteristics ............................................................................ 23 Consequences of Rape Myths ................................................................................ 24 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 26 Review of Literature ................................................................................................ 26 Presentations of Rape in the News Media........................................................ 26 Presentations of SlutWalk ................................................................................ 30 Review of Framing Theory ...................................................................................... 33 Overview ................................................................................................................. 37 3 METHODS .............................................................................................................. 38 Sample Selection .................................................................................................... 38 Coding and Analysis ............................................................................................... 40 Constant Comparative Method ......................................................................... 40 Dedoose ........................................................................................................... 41 Reflexivity Statement .............................................................................................. 41 4 RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 45 RQ 1: How Did Mainstream Newspapers Frame the SlutWalk Protests over 2011?................................................................................................................... 46 Masculinity ........................................................................................................ 46 Victim Blaming .................................................................................................. 48 Strategy and Organization ................................................................................ 51 RQ2: How Did Feminist Blogs Frame the SlutWalk protests in 2011? .................... 53 5 Effectiveness .................................................................................................... 54 Individualism ..................................................................................................... 56 Masculinity ........................................................................................................ 57 RQ3: Were There National Variations in Framing of SlutWalk Protests?................ 59 RQ4: Were there differences between newspapers and feminist blogs in the framing of SlutWalk protests? .............................................................................. 61 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................... 66 Study Limitations .................................................................................................... 66 Presentations of Sexual Violence ........................................................................... 66 Presentations of Women’s Movements................................................................... 70 Presentations of SlutWalk ....................................................................................... 71 Endorsing SlutWalk .......................................................................................... 71 Opposing SlutWalk ........................................................................................... 73 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 73 Suggestions for Journalists and Bloggers ............................................................... 74 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 77 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 91 6 LIST OF TABLES Table page 3-1 Examples of Excerpts, subthemes, and frames in newspapers.......................... 43 3-2 Examples of Excerpts, subthemes, and frames in feminist blogs. ...................... 44 4-1 List of articles on SlutWalk found in mainstream newspapers. ........................... 64 4-2 List of articles on SlutWalk found in feminist blogs. .......................................... 64 4-3 Frames used in mainstream newspapers. ......................................................... 65 4-4 Frames used in feminist blogs. ........................................................................... 65 7 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication FRAMING SLUTWALK: A COMPARISON BETWEEN NEWSPAPERS AND FEMINIST BLOGS By Ruipeng Wang August 2016 Chair: Kim Walsh-Childers Major: Mass Communication Since its inception in April 2011, SlutWalk has evolved from a Toronto-based march against sexual violence and victim blaming to a global movement spanning more than 40 countries. This thesis describes a study of the framing of this movement from February 17, 2011, through December 31, 2011, in both mainstream newspapers and feminist blogs in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The study revealed some differences and similarities in major frames between newspapers and feminist blogs. The mainstream newspapers primarily used masculinity and victim-blaming frames, while the feminist blogs focused more on the masculinity and individualism frames. Therefore, the mainstream newspapers framed SlutWalk as a feminist movement aiming to challenge masculinity and victim blaming, while the feminist media discussed the individualist values of SlutWalk and how that affected the effectiveness of the movement. The only frame that came out in both types of media was that of masculinity and whether SlutWalk challenged or remained consistent with masculine values. The newspaper articles were more likely to frame SlutWalk as a protest challenging 8 patriarchy and masculinity, while the feminist blog posts were more likely to critique SlutWalk as conforming to masculine values rather than challenging them. 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In January 2011, during a campus safety talk, Toronto Police Officer Constable Michael Sanguinetti told a group of York University students that women who do not want to be assaulted should avoid dressing like sluts (Kwan, 2011). Though his intention might have been to protect female students, his words reflected the rape myth that victims are responsible for assaults if they are dressed provocatively. After the story first broke on Excalibur, York University’s community newspaper, two feminist activists in Toronto - Heather Jarvis and Sonya Barnett – were angered by Sanguinetti’s comments and staged the first SlutWalk protest on April 3, 2011. Before the first protest took place, the movement went viral online. It became the subject of discussion on Facebook and Twitter, inspiring social media conversations about rape and victim blaming. Meanwhile, it received attention from the feminist blogosphere, including Rabble.ca, Jezebel and Feministing (McNicol, 2012). By the end of 2011, SlutWalks had been staged
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