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Conflicting images: Representations of women terrorists in U.S. newspapers
by
Robert Handley, Ph.D. Student
Sara Struckman, Ph.D. Student
School of Journalism
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
Submitted to:
Commission on the Status of Women
2005 Annual Convention
San Antonio
Abstract
This study examined American media representations of female and male
terrorists. A content analysis of 280 American newspaper stories
revealed that coverage supports several myths about women terrorists,
including women terrorists as unfeminine, mentally inept, and
others. Researchers conclude that journalists are attempting to
explain women's involvement in terrorist organizations and protect
femininity through patriarchy.
Conflicting images: Representations of women terrorists in U.S. newspapers
On January 28, 2002, a Palestinian walked into a shopping center and
triggered a bomb that killed the bomber and an elderly Israeli
man. On August 24, 2004, two Chechens boarded two separate Russian
passenger planes and detonated bombs that destroyed both planes,
killing 88 people. By most definitions these are terrorist attacks
and journalists were quick to label them as such. But both of these
attacks possessed one quality that we normally do not associate with
terrorism: the terrorists were women.
The novelty of female terrorists seems to have taken hold with
American journalists. Media have dubbed female Chechen suicide
bombers "black widows." The Washington Post asserted that
Palestinian female suicide bombers are "the new factor in Mideast's
deadly equation" (2002, p. C01). Based on recent U.S. media coverage
of terrorist attacks in Israel and Russia, it seems that more women
are becoming involved in terrorist organizations and carrying out
terrorist attacks.
However, the phenomenon of women terrorists is not as novel as it may
appear in the media. While researchers have examined how the media
frame terrorism (e.g., Norris, Kern, & Just, 2003), and the extent to
which terrorists use media to further their cause or how media help
facilitate terrorism (e.g., Nacos, 2002; Tan, 1989), media coverage
of female terrorists is sparse and research that examines how media
portray women terrorists, or terrorists in general, is almost
nonexistent. This is surprising given that women have historically
played primary and supporting roles in terrorist organizations or in
carrying out terrorist attacks (e.g., Beyler, 2003; MacDonald, 1991).
Coverage of women terrorists raises interesting questions because of
the potential conflict between traditional media images of women
(e.g., Wilkins, 1997) and traditional media images of terrorists
(e.g., Steel, 1998). Media coverage of female terrorists provides a
unique opportunity to understand how journalists frame stories about
male and female terrorists; describe the attributes journalists
assign to male and female terrorists, their acts, motives, and roles;
and compare attribute designation when story frames vary.
Background
Recent media coverage of women terrorists might suggest that this is
a new phenomenon and the popular image of the terrorist suggests that
terrorists are always male. History, however, does not support this
view. In Russia, women have been involved in terrorism since the
1870s (Knight, 1979) and since that time, women have played
substantial roles in terrorist organizations in several different
countries, including, but not limited to Lebanon, Turkey, Sri Lanka,
Chechnya, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and Israel (Beyler, 2003). Given
that women have participated in the American Revolutionary War, the
Civil War, Waterloo, and other wars (Jeffords, 1989), women's
participation in terrorist organizations should not be surprising.
Several observers have debunked the myth that women cannot be
terrorists. But attempts to explain female participation in
terrorist organizations have resulted in an inaccurate image of the
woman terrorist. Observers have attempted to explain female
terrorists, Cunningham (2003) argued, because they see women's
participation in terrorist organizations as somehow unnatural.
Terrorism, and violence in general, is considered a male attribute –
something naturally connected, even if unflattering, to the
male. Because it is "unnatural" for women to join terrorist
organizations and participate in terrorist acts, an explanation is
required. The attitude that violence "belongs" to the male results
in a typical image of women terrorists as a) extreme feminists, b)
only bound to terrorism due to a relationship with a man, c) only
acting in supporting roles (not taking part in violence or
leadership), d) mentally inept, e) unfeminine in some way, or any
combination of these (Talbot, 2000).
Yet evidence shows that these images can be challenged, if not
rejected. Talbot (2000) rejected the idea that female terrorists
join terrorist organizations because they are feminists, arguing that
it "relies on the notion that women have only recently become
involved in terrorism" (p. 171). Women's motivation for joining
groups is complex. Knight (1979) examined the diaries of Russian
female terrorists and found that they "reveal[ed] the complex
interplay of emotional, psychological, and social factors underlying
their terrorist activities" (p. 140). Israeli (1994) claimed that
women became more involved in the Islamic fundamentalist movement due
to the impact of Israeli occupation.
It is also inaccurate to state that women are drawn in or forced into
terrorism by a man. Weinbert and Eubank (1987) found that out of
known Italian female terrorists between 1970 and 1984, over a quarter
were related by family to other members in the organization. But
they also observed that the decision for Italian women to join
terrorist organizations was a familial one, not one made by a
male. In fact, men actively try to prevent women from joining
terrorist groups (Cunningham, 2003).
Another myth is that women are not active members of terrorist
groups. In addition to women's subordinate or supportive roles, they
also occupy active roles as well as leadership roles in terrorist
groups. Throughout the 1880s, Russian women participated in
terrorist attacks and equally shared all duties with men (Knight,
1979). In the United Kingdom, Emily Wilding Davison participated in
terrorist acts as early as 1911 (Monaghan, 1997). The first
Palestinian women to die in an act of rebellion against imperial
powers occurred in 1936 (Talbot, 2000). In the 1940s, Iranian women
acted as suicide bombers against the British (Cunningham,
2003). Weinbert and Eubank (1987) noted that well over 300 out of
451 known Italian female terrorists were "active members" between
1970 and 1984. Additionally, a woman founded and led the Japanese
Red Army (Cunningham, 2003). Weinbert and Eubank (1987) found that
seven percent of the women in their study were leaders. In fact,
women's more active and violent roles are increasing and will
probably continue to increase, considering their effectiveness
(Cunningham, 2003).
The typical image of the female terrorist also describes them as
mentally inept. As Talbot (2000) put it: "Very rarely are the
actions of women terrorists perceived to be coldly reasoned decisions
by an intelligent individual with radical views, as male terrorists
are increasingly perceived" (p. 170).
The image also describes the female terrorist as
unfeminine. Observers have an image of female terrorists as women
who physically resemble men (Talbot, 2000). However, women often use
a feminine physical appearance to their advantage. Because society
does not associate women with violence or terrorism, women, because
of their physical appearance, can easily remain undetected when
attempting an attack (Cunningham, 2003; Talbot, 2000). Connecting
violent women to masculinity occurs no matter the nature of the
violence. Farr (2000) noted that prosecutors, and ultimately the
media, connected female killers to masculine imagery. By taking the
woman out of the killer, the jury finds it easier to sentence the
defendant to death.
Literature Review
Images of Women in the Media
Although research that examines media coverage of women terrorists is
sparse, media scholars have investigated media representations of
women who have committed violent acts, such as women who kill their
children. Women who carry out violent acts are scrutinized because
they occupy roles that conflict with society's conception of feminine
nature, or what it means to be a woman. The image is the result of a
conflict between what it means to be a woman and what it means to be
violent. Indeed, popular and scholarly investigation into women
terrorists has resulted in a conflicted image that has appeared in
journalists' stories.
While there is limited research on images of women terrorists in the
media, researchers have examined images of women in the media for
decades. Often these studies focus on literal images of women in
film, television, and in magazines. Usually, researchers come to
similar conclusions: the images of women in the media are linked to
persistent images of women in society in the dichotomous roles of the
virgin or the vamp (Haskell, 1974). Often the media represent women
as attractive and passive, not challenging authority (Kitch, 1997).
The researchers examining images of women who are carrying out what
the media define as terrorist activities and in doing so are defying
traditional female roles. The American media have a history of
covering women who usurp traditional feminine norms, such as women
who murder, women on death row, and female soldiers, and thus the
media are forced to negotiate traditional images of femininity and masculinity.
Violent Women and Female Soldiers:
Negotiating Traditional Images of Femininity and Masculinity
Violent Women
Barnett (2005) examined media coverage of Andrea Yates, a Texas
mother who committed infanticide. She found that news stories
attempted to explain how a mother could kill her own children:
"Women, in general, and mothers, in particular, are supposed to
protect their families, but Yates destroyed hers, and news articles
sought to reconcile the difference between the expected and the
actual" (p. 10). Barnett (2005) found that "the notion that only the
sickest woman would harm her children presents a comforting myth that
permits the illusion of the good mother to continue and reinforces
the cultural stereotype of women as all-loving" (p. 19). Yet, this
myth also positions women who hurt their children as occupying roles
outside the normal, feminine woman (Barnett, 2005).
Female Soldiers
Since World War II, women have played a more and more visible role
in the United States Armed Forces. However, policymakers, women's
groups, and the military are still debating how and where women can
serve in the military. Often these debates appear in the media.
Recruiting members for the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War
II became a public relations strategy after fears that women's
service in the armed forces would lead to heterosexual promiscuity or
lesbianism (Meyer, 1992). As a result, WAC leaders attempted to
portray WAC members as sexless and protected (Meyer, 1992).
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when a record number of women
joined the armed forces, the media were forced to negotiate whether
women soldiers were protectors or protected, especially with regard
to prisoners of war (Nantais & Lee, 1999). Nantais & Lee (1999)
found that "women served in a variety of capacities, but were still
subject to policy restrictions that preserved their status as
'protected' soldiers, and the media reinforced the traditional
imagery of protected femininity" (p. 189).
Theoretical Link
Based on previous research on the history of women terrorists and on
the representations of violent women and women soldiers, it is
important to consider how American journalists represent women
terrorists in this study and frame stories about women terrorists.
Communication scholars agree that journalists' choices – including
word choice – help paint a picture of reality that is not necessarily
accurate and may have interpretive consequences. Two dominant
theories that examine media content in at least one phase of research
are agenda setting and framing. The impact of word choice is the
focus of the second level of agenda setting while the impact of issue
salience is the focus of traditional agenda setting. In part, second
level agenda setting examines how object attributes that are
emphasized in the media influence the audience's perception of the
objects (Ghanem, 1997; McCombs & Ghanem, 2001). Objects include the
subjects of the story. McCombs and Ghanem (2001) stated that objects
are, for example, issues, "political candidates, public institutions,
or competing brands of goods" (p. 68). An object's attributes are
those words and phrases that describe the object. Cognitive
attributes include, for example, issue positions, candidate
qualifications, and candidate personality traits. Affective
attributes are evaluative. Typically, second level agenda setting
defines affective attributes as words or phrases that portray their
object positively, negatively, or neutrally (McCombs & Ghanem,
2001). In this way, the relationship between objects and their
attributes is similar to the relationship between nouns and
adjectives (Maher, 2001).
Framing theory is broader. Oft-cited definitions come from Entman
(1993), Gamson, (1992), Gitlin (1980), Reese (2001), and Tankard
(2001). Entman (1993) outlined a frame's function: it defines a
problem, diagnoses causes, makes moral judgments, and suggests
remedies. The frame has been called an organizing principle or idea
(Gamson, 1992; Reese, 2001; Tankard, 2001) that is the result of the
selection, emphasis, and exclusion of a perceived reality (Carragee &
Roefs, 2004; Gitlin, 1980; Tankard, 2001). Others have stated that
frames are the consequence of various ways of describing the story's
events through word and phrase choice, themes, or images (Husselbee &
Elliott, 2002; Iyengar, 1991; Nelson, 2004; Norris, Kern, & Just,
2003). While scholars have proposed several different definitions,
most agree that frames organize meaning for the audience.
Many framing definitions state that the frame is the result of the
selection, emphasis, exclusion, and elaboration of a perceived
reality. According to these definitions, journalists frame stories
when they focus on one theme at the expense or exclusion of other
themes. If, for example, the journalist focuses her story on legal
attempts to stop terrorism rather than the causes of terrorism, the
story possesses a legal frame. In other words, the story's focus is,
by many definitions, its frame.
Finally, frames may have consequences for the object-attribute
relationship. McCombs and Ghanem (2001) stated, "frames are
organizing principles incorporating and emphasizing . . . attributes
to the exclusion of many others" (p. 74). Depending on the frame –
the formatting frame or the story's focus – an object's attributes
might vary. An episodically (i.e. case study) framed story might
have an object with one attribute, but the object's attribute might
change when the story is framed thematically (i.e. contextualized story).
Research Questions
Because of the myths of women terrorists, potential conflicting
images, and the potential for changes in descriptions when the story
is framed episodically versus thematically, the following research
questions were formulated:
RQ1: How do journalists describe terrorists when women terrorists
are mentioned and when women terrorists are not mentioned?
RQ2: How do journalists describe terrorist acts carried out by
terrorists when women terrorists are mentioned and when women
terrorists are not mentioned?
RQ3: How do journalists describe the terrorist roles when women
terrorists are mentioned and when women terrorists are not mentioned?
RQ4: How do journalists describe terrorist motives when women
terrorists are mentioned and when women terrorists are not mentioned?
RQ5: For RQ1-RQ4, do the descriptions of terrorists change when
journalists frame the story episodically or thematically?
Method
Sample
To answer the research questions, terrorist stories published in
U.S. newspapers were content analyzed. The terrorist stories were
selected from the Lexis-Nexis database. To identify relevant
articles, two separate searches were conducted: (1) a Lexis-Nexis
search for female terrorists and (2) a Lexis-Nexis search of New York
Times for any terrorist articles.
To identify stories that mentioned female terrorists, three keyword
searches were used: female terrorist, woman terrorist, and women
terrorists. Because this method yielded only 55 stories, a census
was used. The first story that mentioned female terrorists appeared
on August 6, 1977. All major U.S. papers in Lexis-Nexis were chosen
because of the lack of news stories that included the keywords.
To obtain the sample that did not specify terrorists' gender a
different procedure was followed. News articles that appeared on the
front page of The New York Times and mentioned the keyword terrorist
during the years 1985, 1995, and 2004 were randomly selected. The
New York Times was chosen because of its reputation, elite and
national status, and because of its ability to set the agenda for
smaller papers. The years 1985, 1995, and 2004 were chosen because
they are a decade apart and represent significant eras in terrorist
acts: coverage of terrorism during the Reagan Administration and
before the first World Trade Center bombing (1985); coverage of
terrorism during the Clinton Administration after the Oklahoma City
bombing (1995); and post-9/11 and during the "war on terror"
(2004). The search yielded a total of 225 stories (1985: N = 55;
1995: N = 41; 2004: N = 129).
Coding Categories
Coding categories were developed by an initial reading of 50
terrorist stories. The researchers identified every adjective and
adjectival phrase used to describe terrorists, then grouped them into
four areas: terrorist descriptions, acts, roles, and motives.
Terrorist descriptions refer to words and phrases newspapers employ
to describe terrorists themselves, rather than their roles, and
include the following mutually exclusive categories: expert,
familial/relational, aberration, appearance and age, prisoner,
negative affect, positive affect, soldiers, deceiver, and incompetent.
Terrorists were identified as experts when the paper used phrases
such as expert, mastermind, and capable to describe
them. Familial/Relational descriptions refer to words as phrases
that place the terrorist in a relational context. Examples include
statements that describe the terrorist as a mother or father, brother
or sister, and having a good or bad relationship with other
terrorists. Aberration refers to statements that describe the
terrorist as someone who lives outside a particular norm. Words and
phrases that indicate this, for example, include aberration, outcast,
freak of feminine nature, and violence at odds with
femininity. Appearance and Age refers to statements that indicate
what the terrorist looks like. Words and phrases that indicate this
include, young, in his 40s, well-dressed, clean-shaven, black shirt,
and plump. Prisoner refers to statements that indicate the terrorist
has been captured by a state power. Words and phrases that indicate
this are in jail, sprung from jail, captured, and on trial. Negative
affect refers to statements that negatively describe the
terrorist. Examples include bloodthirsty, brutal, aggressive, angry,
extremist, and radical. Positive affect refers to statements that
positively describe the terrorist. Examples include polite, nice,
tolerant, and remorseful. The operation Soldiers refers to
statements that describe the violent capacity of the
terrorist. Examples include commandos, guerillas, militants, and
soldiers. Deceiver refers to statements that describe the terrorist
as someone who uses deceptive tactics to carry out an
attack. Phrases that indicate this include bribed way onto plane,
hawk in dove's clothing, and packed belt hidden under
dress. Incompetent refers to statements that address a terrorist's
inability to successfully complete a terrorist act. Phrases that
indicate this include complete fool, unable to detonate explosives,
and unable to put on gas masks.
Terrorist acts refer to words and phrases newspapers employ to
describe the act itself, rather than its perpetrators, and include
immediate effects, the psychology of the act, retaliation/revenge,
efficiency/organized, and scale. Immediate effects refer to a
description of the scene immediately following the terrorist
attack. Words and phrases that indicate this include obliterated,
blasted, and bloody. The psychology of the act refers to the
emotions experienced by victims and their families, terrorists, and
law enforcement. Examples include moments of terror, paralyzed with
fear, dramatic, chaotic finale, and ordeal. Retaliation/revenge
refers to responses to state violence. Examples include revenge and
vengeful. Efficiency/organized refers to well-planned
attacks. Examples include planned act of violence, coordinate, and
skillfully executed. Scale compares the scale of the current attack
to past attacks. Examples include bloodiest in American history,
deadliest attack, and Spain's 9/11.
Terrorist roles refer to the terrorists' responsibilities in an
attack or organization and include primary violent actor, leader,
victim or dissenter, bungler, support, peripheral violent actor, and
dependent actor. Terrorists were identified as primary violent
actors if described as the shooter, hijacker, bomber, or other key
phrases were used such as threw a baby overboard. Terrorists were
identified as leaders if they were mentioned as leaders or
supervisors. Terrorists were identified as victims or dissenters if
they were described as terrorists who were killed by fellow
terrorists, forced into terrorism by others, or refused a leader's
orders. Terrorists were identified as bunglers if they were
described as incompetent. Examples include phrases that indicated
that the terrorist died in an unrelated accident, could only
partially carry out an attack, or was unsuccessful because of
inefficiency, nervousness, or other reason. Terrorists were
identified as support if they were described as responsible for
non-violent terrorist activities, including espionage, fund-raising,
weapons and meals supplies. Terrorists were identified as peripheral
violent actors if the newspaper used "clean" language to describe
their role in an attack. Phrasal examples include participated in
the bus attack, were part of a group, and the women among the
terrorists. Terrorists were identified as dependent actors if their
acts were described as successful because of some fortunate (for the
terrorist) circumstances. Phrases that indicate this include the
terrorist bribed, employee is suspected of aiding two terrorists,
employee allowed one of the terrorists.
Terrorist motives refer to the reasons why terrorists carried out an
attack, and include political motives, nationalist motives, and
social and cultural motives. Political motives refer to statements
that indicate the reason was in response to a recognized state
policy, action, and so forth. Phrasal examples include in response
to a President's decree and to send a signal to the state to remove
its troops. Nationalist motives refer to statements that indicate
the terrorist act was to promote ethnic solidarity. Examples include
a motivation to establish an independent Palestinian state or a
Chechen state. Social and cultural motives refer to statements that
indicate the terrorist act was used to promote a social and cultural
agenda that does not challenge the state itself. Examples include a
motivation to hurt the economy, opposition to abortion laws,
opposition to anti-feminism, and promotion of equality.
Frames refer to the scope of the story. According to Iyengar (1991),
episodic frames "take the form of a case study or event oriented
report and depicts public issues in terms of concrete instances" (p.
14). Thematic frames "place public issues in some more general or
abstract context and take the form of a 'takeout,' or 'backgrounder,'
reported directed at general outcomes or conditions" (p. 14). A
story of a suicide bomber that walks into a café and kills several
people without giving historical, political, economic, social, or
some other context is an example of an episodic article. A story
that places that suicide bombing attack in a larger context is an
example of a thematic article.
Intercoder Reliability
Intercoder reliability was assessed on 50 stories using Perreault and
Leigh's (1989) reliability index. The reliability index accounts for
chance agreement, the number of categories, and is sensitive to
coding weakness.[1] Using Perreault and Leigh's (1989) reliability
index, the mean agreement across all categories was 82%.
Results
The first four research questions sought to compare different
descriptions journalists assigned to terrorists, the acts committed,
the motivation for the act, and terrorists' roles when women were and
were not mentioned. For the first four questions, a series of 2 x 2
Chi-Square analyses were performed to measure the association between
stories that mentioned and did not mention women terrorists and the
attributes journalists assigned to the terrorists in those stories.
Descriptions of Terrorists
The first research question was concerned with the extent to which
newspapers described female and male terrorists differently. The
data revealed several differences. According to Table 1, journalists
described terrorists that involved women prisoners 35% and only 7% of
the time when female terrorists were not mentioned. Journalists were
more likely to describe the appearance or age of the terrorists when
women were mentioned (27%) than when not mentioned (14%). When
female terrorists were mentioned (22%), journalists were more likely
to describe the terrorists in a familial or relational context than
when female terrorists were not mentioned (6%). Journalists
described more terrorists as aberrations 18% of the time when women
terrorists were involved and less than 1% of the time when men were
involved. Journalists were much more likely to describe terrorists
as deceptive when women terrorists were mentioned (15%) than when
women were not mentioned (4%). When women terrorists were mentioned,
journalists described the terrorist as incompetent 13% and only 1% of
the time when women were not mentioned. When women terrorists were
mentioned, journalists were also more likely to assign positive
attributes (9%) than when women were not mentioned (3%).
Descriptions of Terrorist Acts
The second research question was concerned with the extent to which
journalists described the terrorist act differently when female
terrorists were mentioned. The data revealed two significant
differences. When women were not mentioned (32%), versus when
journalists mentioned women (55%), journalists were more likely to
describe the immediate effects of the terrorist act, for example the
physical destruction of the act (?2 = 9.7, df = 1, p <
.05). However, when women were mentioned (24%), versus when women
were not mentioned (12%), journalists were more likely to describe
the psychology of the act, for example the emotional response of
people involved in the act (?2 = 4.2, df = 1, p < .05).
Descriptions of Terrorist Roles
The third research question was concerned with the extent to which
journalists described terrorists' roles when women terrorists were
and were not mentioned. Data revealed a few
differences. Journalists described stories that mentioned women
terrorists as violent actors (51%) more often than when women
terrorists were not mentioned (29%). When women were mentioned
(24%), versus when women were not mentioned (2%), journalists were
more likely to describe them the terrorists as bunglers. Journalists
described terrorists in stories that mentioned women terrorists as
peripheral actors 13% of the time, but only described terrorists in
stories that did not mention women as peripheral actors 4% of the
time. Journalists described terrorists in stories that mentioned
women terrorists as dependent actors 9% of the time, but never
described terrorists in stories that did not mention women as
dependent actors. When women terrorists were mentioned, journalists
described them as victims 6% of the time. When women terrorists were
not mentioned, journalists described them as victims only 1% of the
time. See Table 1 for details.
Descriptions of Terrorist Motives
The fourth research question was concerned with how journalists
portrayed the terrorists' motivations when women terrorists were
mentioned in the news stories and when women were not mentioned in
the news stories. When women were mentioned, 16% of the time
journalists described their motivation as political, 9% percent of
the time their motivation was described as nationalistic, and 9% of
the time the news articles described their motivation as social or
cultural. Stories that did not mention women terrorists were less
likely to assign motivation. Out of these, journalists mentioned a
political motivation 12% of the time, 8% of the time they assigned a
nationalistic motivation, and 2% of the time journalists designated a
social or cultural reason to carry out an attack (?2 = 10.5, df = 1,
p < .05).
News Frames
The fifth research question was concerned with the extent to which
terrorist attributes varied when stories were framed episodically or
thematically. Episodic frames refer to hard news stories and
thematic frames are more contextualized stories. As Table 2
indicates, data revealed two significant associations when women
terrorists were and were not mentioned. When the story was framed
episodically, journalists were more likely to describe the terrorist
as a violent actor (66%) than when the story was framed thematically
(35%). Few episodic stories (7%) described the terrorist as an
aberration but almost a third of thematic stories did.
When women terrorists were not mentioned, a few attributes varied
with the frame. Twenty-eight percent of the episodic stories
described the terrorist as a leader; however, only 14% of the
thematic stories did. Out of episodically framed stories, 17%
described the terrorist's age or appearance, but only 8% of the
thematic stories described age or appearance. A tenth of the
episodic stories described the terrorist as a prisoner, but
journalists described the terrorist as a prisoner only 1% of the time
when they framed the story thematically.
Discussion
Perhaps the most important discovery of this research project is the
lack of U.S. media coverage about female terrorists. History shows
that women have been involved in terrorism and have carried out
terrorist attacks at least as far back as the 1870s (Knight, 1979)
and at least one scholar predicted that women's participation in
terrorist organizations and acts will continue to rise (Cunningham,
2003). Lack of coverage in the U.S. may be due to the fact that the
U.S. has been relatively safe from terrorist attacks. Because major
terrorist attacks carried out in the U.S. (e.g., the Oklahoma City
bombing, the first WTC attack, and 9/11) have been carried out by
men, U.S. journalists may not consider stories about women terrorists
newsworthy. Another possibility is that journalists consider a
terrorist a terrorist, no matter the terrorist's gender. In other
words, journalists may be unsympathetic to those who carry out an
attack: If you're a terrorist, you're a terrorist. Considering the
data, however, this interpretation should be taken with caution.
Results show that U.S. newspaper representations reinforce myths
about female terrorists that Talbot (2000) outlined: women
terrorists as a) extreme feminists, b) only bound to terrorism due to
a relationship with a man, c) only acting in supporting roles (not
taking part in violence or leadership), d) mentally inept, e)
unfeminine in some way, or any combination of these.
Through their descriptions, American journalists used these
stereotypes to negotiate femininity and masculinity and explain why
women would resort to violence, a trait reserved for masculinity.
When women terrorists were described as aberrations, it implies that
they are unfeminine in some way or aberrations of feminine
nature. Women terrorists were largely depicted as bound to terrorism
due to a man through journalists' descriptions of women terrorists in
a familial or relational way, as victims, and in some part with
positive attributes. By describing women terrorists as prisoners,
incompetent, or bunglers, journalists imply that women terrorists are
mentally inept in some way and unable to successfully occupy the
violent position as a terrorist. Finally, although history
disagrees, journalists described women as dependent or peripheral
actors and this description reinforces the myth that women only act
in a supporting role in terrorist organizations.
Journalists did stray from the myths of women terrorists when they
described women terrorists as deceptive, which counters the
unfeminine myth and the mentally inept myth. By suggesting that
women use their femininity to deceive officials, journalists see
these women as feminine and resourceful, not unfeminine and mentally inept.
When stories that mentioned women terrorists were framed
thematically, journalists were much more likely to discuss the
aberrational quality of the female terrorist. This makes sense
because thematic frames place the story's events in a particular
context. In this case, the thematic story is an explanatory one. It
seeks to explain away female violence. By discussing the rarity of
female terrorism and describing women terrorists as freaks of
feminine nature whose violence conflicts with "natural" femininity,
journalists seek to understand why women join terrorist groups and
carry out attacks. In doing this, journalists attempt to pull the
woman out of the terrorist, viewing the female terrorist more as a
tragic victim than an evil perpetrator. Journalists support the myth
that women terrorists are bound to terrorism through some other
circumstances or are unfeminine in some way. It is an attempt to
protect femininity through patriarchy.
While we may criticize journalists for reinforcing myths about
terrorism, their news stories at least attempt to understand why
women join terrorist organizations and carry out attacks. This
cannot be said for stories that mentioned male terrorists only: no
evidence suggested that journalists tried to understand men's role in
terrorism. As the literature shows, violence is perceived as
naturally tied to men so no explanation for male violence is required
(Cunningham, 2003). Unfortunately, when journalists make no attempt
to understand the male terrorist, in effect they are claiming that
male terrorists have no reasons to attack. The question "Why do they
hate us?" is a question we ask but do not expect an answer. More
media coverage of female terrorism, on the other hand, may have
positive consequences because results show that journalists try to
explain terrorist involvement.
Theoretical Implications
If frames are organizing principles that organize meaning for the
audience, we may ask where those organizing principles
originate. Talbot (2000) noted that myths about female terrorists
exist among scholars and lay people alike. Scholars see women's
participation in violent acts – whether infanticide, murder, or
terrorism – as unnatural and seek to explain that violence away. For
whatever reason, our culture views women as incapable of violence and
often attributes that violence to reasons beyond the women's control,
sometimes due to an illness or the relational attachment to a
man. Journalists, as people involved in this culture, help reinforce
those myths and represent violent women in a way that describes them
as unnatural and traitorous to their gender. The organizing
principle, then, may be one that originates in the culture and
attempts to give meaning to women's involvement in terrorism, meaning
that can be explained away. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to
explain men's involvement in terrorism. Indeed, if one asked several
people what a terrorist looks like, one may receive a variety of
responses but those responses will probably describe male, or at
least masculine, characteristics.
Frames employed may have implications for the object-attribute
relationship. This is especially true for stories that mentioned
women terrorists. Though the object-attribute relationship changed
only twice, depending on the frame, the relationship changed in a
meaningful and important way. When framed thematically, journalists
were more likely to describe terrorists in stories that mentioned
women as aberrations. When framed episodically, journalists were
more likely to describe terrorists in stories that mentioned women
terrorists as violent actors. At least for stories that mentioned
women terrorists, the frame (whether journalists explained away
women's involvement or not) had an impact on how women terrorists
were described. The object-attribute relationship varied with the
episodic-thematic frame when stories did not mention women
terrorists, but not in a meaningful way.
Limitations and Future Research
Limitations involve measurement issues. One of the myths of the
female terrorist is that they are unfeminine and that this lack of
femininity is symbolized through their appearance (Talbot,
2000). The literature also shows that prosecutors try to connect
female defendants to masculine imagery so the jury can more easily
convict them (Farr, 2000). The instrument used here measured only
the mention of a particular appearance, not whether that appearance
is associated with femininity or masculinity. The study also assumed
that stories that did not specifically mention women terrorists were
fully about male terrorists. It is possible that journalists view a
terrorist as a terrorist no matter his or her gender – though we
think this unlikely.
The study was also limited in that it left the conceptualization of
who is a terrorist up to the journalist. While this helped sample
stories and gives insight into how journalists define and think about
terrorism and its perpetrators, a standardized conceptualization of
terrorism may prove useful in examining media coverage of
terrorism. To better understand why journalists conceptualize
terrorists in certain ways, researchers could interview journalists
about their ideas on terrorists. Finally, quantitative analysis
cannot fully explore media coverage of terrorism and representations
of terrorists.
Because research on the representations of women terrorists and
terrorists in general is so limited, future research should build on
this research. Future research could replicate this study to examine
media representations of male terrorists. Additionally, because
women terrorists are foreign to Americans, researchers could examine
international media representations of women terrorists, especially
focusing on media in countries where women have historically been
involved in terrorist organizations.
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[1] Ir = {[(Fo/N) – (1/k)][k/k-1]}0.5 where Fo is the observed
frequency of agreement between coders, N is the total number of
judgments, and k is the number of categories. Reliability scores
range from 0 to 1 where 0 represents no agreement and 1 represents
perfect agreement.
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