White, Black, and Latina Female Victims in U.S. News: A Multivariate and Intersectional Analysis of Story Differences

Abstract

Prior research suggests the media depict White female victims more sympathetically than their minority counterparts, yet no researcher has yet examined this proposition at the multivariate level. Moreover, prior research on media portrayals generally include White versus non-White or White versus Black comparisons, but no researcher has yet compared media accounts of White, Black, and Latina female victims. Based on critical race feminism, we expected news coverage of White, Black, and Latina victims to vary in key ways. We examined narratives at the bivariate and multivariate levels, and we contextualized findings with story excerpts. Stories about White female victims were more likely to contain sympathetic themes—such as themes of religiosity and reported media attention—and to result in overall sympathetic narratives compared to stories about minority victims, whereas overall narratives about Latina and Black female victims were often unsympathetic. Our findings align with the “ideal victim” stereotype and may help explain the differential treatment of White and minority female victims by the criminal justice system.

Anti-Asian Hate Crime in U.S. National News: A Content Analysis of Coverage and Narratives from 2010–2021

“…While we did not find evidence of the model minority stereotype in the articles pertaining to Asian Americans through how the authors discussed the victims, perhaps the disproportionate voice given to Asian American victims, though still infrequent, is indicative of the model minority stereotype. Research has consistently found biases in the media with regard to their presentation of victimhood (DiBennardo, 2018; Jeanis & Powers, 2017; Morrison et al, 2021; Slakoff & Brennan, 2020). Future research should examine more subtle forms of the model minority stereotype and whether the inclusion of quotes by victims engenders that stereotype.…”

Perceptions of Police Among Kenyan Female Immigrants in the United States

“…Gender is not the only demographic, however, that is likely to have influenced this outcome. Women in the sample may have believed that their immigrant and socio-economic statuses might have protected them from the negative stereotypes of Black women as in the United States (Slakoff, 2020; Slakoff & Brennan, 2020). Still, personal previous experience with the criminal justice may have provided evidence to the contrary, that their treatment is more in line with African American women regardless of these other demographic factors.…”

“…Thus, the lack of access may be partly the choice of Black women who are immigrants. Undoubtedly, they are also aware of the negative portrayal of Black women in crime news across the United States (Slakoff, 2020; Slakoff & Brennan, 2020). Thus, to understand the intersection of identities and access and benefit from the criminal justice system in the United States, we use a unique sample of female immigrants from Kenya.…”

Examining the Connection Between Missing Persons and Victimization: An Application of Lifestyle Exposure Theory

“…For example, "Missing White Woman Syndrome" refers to more sympathetic and greater media attention paid to missing white women and girls (Moody et al, 2009). Police efforts may alter in light of media coverage (e.g., escalate; Lee, 2005); thus, disparities in newsworthiness, and media narratives being shaped by factors like race and sex/ gender (Slakoff & Brennan, 2020;Slakoff & Fradella, 2019), can affect case events/outcomes, including with respect to victimization.…”