U.S. News Coverage of Transgender Victims of Fatal Violence: An Exploratory Content Analysis

Abstract

Media portrayals of crime help shape public perceptions of victims and the demographic groups to which they belong. For transgender people, who already face heightened disparities and stigma, news coverage may reinforce negative stereotypes and minimize the wider context of transphobic violence. The present study, a content analysis of news articles ( n = 316) pertaining to 27 transgender people killed in the United States in 2016, addresses positive and negative depictions of victims, use of language affirming and delegitimizing transgender identities, and framing of transphobia as a systemic problem. Themes, implications, and future research directions are discussed.

The (r)evolution of transsexuality in the news media: The case of the Spanish digital press (2000-2020)

“…Similar to previous literature (e.g. Åkerlund, 2019; Billard, 2016; Capuzza, 2016; DeJong et al, 2021; Gupta, 2019; Osborn, 2021; Seely, 2021), empirical evidence has been found that online newspapers, Spanish ones in this case, do not always respect the sexual identity of women and men in a situation of transsexuality and also that they question its stability. The wrong body discourse, in which no trend has been observed unlike the previous indicators, continues to be present (e.g.…”

“…In addition, crime stories are usually incorporated in these sections, which in the case of transsexuality have aroused great academic interest (e.g. DeJong et al, 2021; Osborn, 2021; Seely, 2021).…”

“…The academic literature has found empirical evidence that the media do not always respect the sexual identity of women and men in a situation of transsexuality and they also question its stability (e.g. Åkerlund, 2019; Billard, 2016; Capuzza, 2016; DeJong et al, 2021; Gupta, 2019; Osborn, 2021; Seely, 2021). The wrong body discourse (e.g.…”

“…Billard, 2016; Capuzza, 2016, 2014; Olveira-Araujo, 2019) are also present in the news, as well as the portrayal of transsexuality as a central axis in the lives of these people through the nominalization of this situation (e.g. Baker, 2014; Billard, 2016; Osborn, 2021; Zottola, 2018), which also leads to confuse transsexuality with a third sexual identity. Likewise, transsexuality is sometimes confused with other types of sexual diversity, such as homosexuality, bisexuality or cross-dressing (e.g.…”

A Descriptive Account of the Nature and Extent of Transgender Homicide in America, 2010 to 2021

“…As a result, valid and reliable information on the nature and extent of such incidents in the United States, especially in recent years, does not currently exist. The limited information that is available covers only a single year (e.g., DeJong et al, 2021; Osborn, 2022) or is primarily compiled by advocacy organizations, including the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC Foundation, 2020), which publish regular reports and lists of murder victims obtained through media reports and other sources; but these reports do not include detailed, quantifiable information about victims, suspects, or related information, and sometimes contain sparse information beyond the name of the victim. 1 And, while some evidence of elevated victimization risk has been obtained from self-report surveys, that is clearly not possible for homicide victimization.…”