GENDER UNDER TORTURE: HOW GENDER SHAPES AND IS SHAPED BY TORTURE by MARITA GRONNVOLL (Under the Direction of Celeste M. Condit) ABSTRACT This dissertation is an examination of media discourses pertaining to torture as an interrogation method in the “war on terrorism.” The major focus is the circular relationship between gender and torture. The project scrutinizes the ways that gender norms have influenced perceptions of torture and torture has influenced what are believed to be acceptable gender behaviors. Through an analysis of both news media and popular entertainment television programs, this dissertation explores the implications for linking gender and torture when these concepts are taken up and disseminated through mass media. With the “enemy” in the war on terrorism being described in media and social discourses as demonically brutal, a cultural longing is revealed for a warrior hero who can effectively protect “us” from “them.” This new hero is distinctly masculine, remorseful when forced to perform actions that cross the line into torture, but, at the same time, unrepentant. As one who fights for the side of good (Judeo- Christianity) against evil (Islam), this new hero is an archetypal messiah. The creation of this new hero in the shape of a messiah effectively guarantees that that shape will not be female. The culturally perceived defectiveness of women physically, morally, and mentally means that they could never rise to the level of messianic saviors. A messianic hero would necessarily recall the image of Christ, thus requiring this hero to be male. A masculine, messianic hero is portrayed as being in a position to use torture effectively to save the world, but discourses circulating in mass media suggest that this is something women, no matter how professional and well trained, are incapable of. This project analyzes two case studies – prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay – and five American television programs depicting government agents engaged in counterterrorism. Analysis of these texts suggests that cultural space may have been created allowing for the perception of righteous male warriors who commit torture as demonstration of their heroism. Torture is, thus, placed on a hierarchy allowing for its potential legitimization and normalization as practice in the war on terrorism. INDEX WORDS: Torture; torture and gender; messianic heroes; blood and war; Abu Ghraib; Guantánamo Bay; television heroes; La Femme Nikita; Alias; 24; Sleeper Cell; The Unit GENDER UNDER TORTURE: HOW GENDER SHAPES AND IS SHAPED BY TORTURE by MARITA GRONNVOLL B.A., University of Washington, 2000 M.A., University of Washington, 2003 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2008 © 2008 Marita Gronnvoll All Rights Reserved GENDER UNDER TORTURE: HOW GENDER SHAPES AND IS SHAPED BY TORTURE by MARITA GRONNVOLL Major Professor: Celeste M. Condit Committee: John Murphy Roger Stahl Kelly Happe Amy Ross Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2008 DEDICATION To my mother, Sylva Gronnvoll. Mom, I wish you knew how it all turned out. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project began with moral indignation. As I sat in my tiny apartment in Seattle and stared at the images emerging from Abu Ghraib, my blood began to boil. It was a slow simmer that continued in intensity as I relocated to Georgia to begin my doctoral studies. It wasn’t until I sat in a graduate seminar on rhetorical criticism with Dr. Celeste Condit that I realized that these photographs and all they represented would become my life’s work. However much the Bush Administration may dissemble, there was never any doubt in my mind that the country of which I am a citizen had endorsed torture of the Arab “other” in the name of “our” safety. This project combines my two passions: My desire to see justice done by the elimination of torture, and my interest in feminism. I never would’ve dreamed that I could bring these two together, but thanks to the astounding developments in the “war on terrorism” and the curious obsessions of mass media, I found my niche. It is unfortunate that world events seem to guarantee that I can make a career of studying torture, but here is where I find myself. I know now what every scholar who came before me knows: This project was not a solo endeavor. First and foremost, I wish to thank my advisor, mentor, and friend Celeste Condit. In more ways than I can ever recount, Celeste has provided a model for me to follow of what a scholar can and should be. I can only hope to live up to the standards she has set, and she makes me want to try. During the year that I was writing this dissertation, life was not easy. Celeste has been every bit the friend to me during that time as she has been my advisor. I have no words to express my gratitude. v I owe special thanks to John Murphy for never failing to bring new bits of information to me that helped me to shape this project, and for just being a good sounding board. I also want to mention Amy Ross for her enthusiastic support of my project, and giving me opportunities to speak across disciplinary boundaries to other like-minded scholars. I also thank the other members of my committee, Roger Stahl and Kelly Happe, for their interest and advice. Other professors at the University of Georgia and elsewhere have also been very helpful over the years. I’m indebted to Bonnie Dow for helping me to see how gender was implicated in the Abu Ghraib scandal, especially gender invisibility regarding the male soldiers. Without her pushing me to look for what was lacking in the media discourses, this project would’ve never gotten off the ground. And thanks to Vanessa Beasley for helping me to theorize in the early stages of my project. The list of friends and family I owe my gratitude to are too vast to name them all here, so I’ll just mention a few. Jamie Landau has become the kind of friend who will be with me for the rest of my life. I’m so grateful for the hours of conversation, weekly dinners, study dates, and general hanging out. Jamie, you are the other half of my brain, and there’s no one in the world quite like you. My old friend Matthew von der Ahe has been a lifeline at those times I was tempted to quit grad school and just pour coffee for a living. I appreciate his willingness to talk about my project for hours even though, as a geologist, he was engaging another language. My sweet friend, Becky Kuehl, one of the “women who wine,” what would I have done without you? My family has been a constant source of support through a very difficult year for us all. With their never-ending encouragement, I was able to stay in Georgia and do my work with a minimum of guilt and anxiety. My family has always rallied around me, and because of them this vi dissertation has become something of a family effort. My dad, Kurt, has been the cheerleader I never knew he could be. My big sister, “Rung,” and my little sister, Karina, have shown as much enthusiasm for my work as, at times, I have. I appreciate their eagerness to read work that must’ve seemed dry to them, but which they engaged with their formidable brains. My brothers, Sverre and Steven, have been steadfast in their love and support. The love and care given to my parents by my oldest friend and sister-in-law, Laura, has made it possible for me to sleep at night. And, finally, my mom, whose amazing mind has left a body that continues to weaken, I wish your generation would’ve let you achieve what I know you could have, but that takes nothing away from all you’ve done. I miss you every day. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTERROGATING TORTURE...................................................................................1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 A “War of Ideas”.......................................................................................................6 Tortured Gender ......................................................................................................14 Torture and Mass Media..........................................................................................19 Dangerous Questions...............................................................................................24 Critical Orientation..................................................................................................35 Chapter Preview ......................................................................................................38 2 GENDER (IN)VISIBILITY AT ABU GHRAIB ........................................................41 Introduction .............................................................................................................41 Gender Markers – Visible and Invisible..................................................................46 The Sexual Body of Lynndie England ....................................................................56 “Thelma and Louise in Iraq”...................................................................................59 (White) Men Have No Gender ................................................................................64