Mad, Bad, or Reasonable? Newspaper Portrayals of the Battered Woman Who Kills

• Published in: Gender issues Vol. 27; no. 3-4; pp. 110 - 130
• Main Authors: Noh, Marianne S., Lee, Matthew T., Feltey, Kathryn M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.12.2010; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alternative Approaches; Battered Women; Beliefs; Coding; Crime; Criminals; Deviance; Discourse; Domestic violence; Females; Feminism; Gender; Gender Studies; Legal defense; Literature Reviews; Males; Mass Media; Media coverage; Medical profession; Medicine; Murders & murder attempts; Narratives; News media; Original Article; Political power; Post traumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Social construction; Social Constructionism; Social Problems; Social Sciences; Sociology; Studies; Victimization; Violent crime; Women; United States > US; Domestic violence; Media analysis; Gender and crime; Battered woman; Battered woman syndrome
• ISSN: 1098-092X; 1936-4717
• DOI: 10.1007/s12147-010-9093-9

A heated debate about battered women who kill abusive male partners started in the 1970s. In this study, we tracked the public discourse on battered women who kill by coding 250 newspaper articles published between 1978 and 2002. Using four typifying models, we found that leading explanations for why battered women kill medicalized then criminalized their actions; they were mad then bad. We also found that reporters used quotes from claims makers supporting conventional or medical typifications of battered women to a much greater degree than statements from alternative, feminist sources. In conclusion, simplified, sensational and conventional understandings of crime causation drove the social construction of “the battered woman who kills”. She may be mad or bad, but rarely has she been portrayed as reasonable. Suggestions for promoting feminist narrative in the media are also provided.