"VICIOUS ASSAULT SHAKES TEXAS TOWN": The politics of gender violence in The New York Times' coverage of a schoolgirl's gang rape

Abstract

In March 2011, The New York Times reported the serial gang rape of a schoolgirl in the small town of Cleveland, Texas. Responses to the story were swift and damning: bloggers and commentators quickly identified the patriarchal and victim-blaming aspects of The Times' coverage, resulting in an influential petition and an apology from The Times. This study employs critical textual analysis to interrogate the critical responses to The Times story. The analysis reveals that commentators recognized misogynist bias in The Times' reporter's use of sources and quotes, the lexical structures in the text, and the strategic elision of race as a "present absence" in the news article. This analysis concludes that in channeling feminist conceptual tropes, the bloggers and commentators engaged in feminist praxis, raising awareness of patriarchal frames for sexual violence as well as galvanizing progressive action. But the study also points to a continued need for vigilance and feminist activism around sexual violence and child abuse. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.