Archive for April 2023

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[Commlist] New book: From Fritzl to #metoo: Twelve years of rape coverage in the British press

Thu Apr 20 12:49:44 GMT 2023





Alessia Tranchese is really pleased to share the news that my research on the representation of sexual violence has finally been published in a book: *From Fritzl to #metoo: Twelve years of rape coverage in the British press <https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-09353-1>* (Palgrave Macmillan). The book is part of the Palgrave Studies in Language, Gender and Sexuality. If you're interested in knowing more, I've added a short summary, table of contents, and reviews below.

Please feel free to get in touch with me ((alessia.tranchese /at/ port.ac.uk) <mailto:(alessia.tranchese /at/ port.ac.uk)>) if you want to know more about it and kindly forward it to anyone who might be interested.

*About the book*
This book provides a much-needed longitudinal analysis of the language used by the British press to talk about sexual violence. Through a diachronic analysis informed by corpus linguistics and feminist theory, the book examines how rape discourse has (or has not) changed over the past decade, and it explores how age-old myths about sexual violence re-emerge in different forms within news narratives. Against the backdrop of twelve years of newspaper coverage of rape, including many high-profile cases, this study also traces the rise of “celebrity culture”, the emergence of #metoo, and the development of the backlash against it. The historical events and media trends covered in this book are placed within broader debates on feminism and the role played by (social) media in shaping contemporary rape discourse.

More information about the author is available here <https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/structure-and-governance/our-people/our-staff/alessia-tranchese>.

*Table of Contents*
*
*
*Introduction*
1. Not Another Book About Male Violence Against Women!

*Setting the Scene*
2. Defining the field
3. Method, Context, and Data

*At the Surface*
4. The Different Names of Sexual Violence
5. Sexual Violence Across Time

*Delving Deeper*
6. It’s Not just Semantics
7. Emerging Patterns
8. Disappearing Patterns

*Before and After*
9.Does Rape Attract Murder?
10. #metoo: The Good, the Bad, and the Backlash
11. From Fritzl to #metoo: What Has Changed?
12. CONCLUSION Joining the Dots


*Reviews*
“An important, rigorous and very readable book which will be an essential point of reference for future studies of sexual violence in the news. Tranchese demonstrates which myths about rape have persisted, as well as highlighting how they have adapted to the digital news environment. Her analysis is clear and persuasive and provides activists with new tools and evidence to push for change. This is feminist media studies at its best. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.” *Karen Boyle*, Author #MeToo, Weinstein and Feminism, University of Strathclyde

“This book is essential reading for anyone who really wants to understand how the myths and stereotypes around rape are moulded and sustained by the British media, distracting from the profound structural changes required to dismantle misogyny and deliver real justice for women, too often denied by the courts.”
*Yvonne Roberts*, journalist and campaigner

“This analysis of what changed, and what didn’t, in British press coverage of sexual violence against women between 2009 and 2019 is a valuable and much needed contribution to our understanding of a pervasive social problem. Tranchese shows how the media’s choices about what to report and how contribute to that problem, and how recent developments like the rise of online media consumption and the ‘celebrification’ of news have made things worse. It’s a sobering but necessary read, which will be welcomed by linguists and other social scientists researching violence against women, media discourse or both.” *Deborah Cameron*, Professor of Language and Communication, University of Oxford, UK

“A fascinating analysis of linguistic and discursive patterns surrounding press reporting of sexual violence towards women both before and during the #MeToo era.” *Paul Baker*, Professor of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University, UK

“An exceptionally well-researched account of how the British media have represented sexual violence over the past two decades. Through in-depth discourse analysis, Tranchese powerfully charts the mythologies embedded in press coverage of men’s sexual violence against women, and details how these contribute to the social conditions that make such violence possible.” *Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray*, Deputy Director of the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University, UK

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