Gender In The Media Essay

I have always noticed that people state that in today’s society the younger generations are becoming more accepting of different cultures and races. Though this statement may seem true, it is not representative of what we see in media coverage. More often than not gender, race, and ethnicity play a marginally large role in what crimes get covered, and more specifically how they are covered. When a person has a race, gender, or ethnicity that as seen as deviant from the norm (not white, straight, and male) they are more likely to be pointed out in the media as being outsiders. In the Jewkes article that was written on gender in the media, the discussion of how women are viewed when they commit a crime demonstrates how different they

Typically when an offender that is white commits a crime they are seen as mentally ill or have had an abusive past that led them to commit a terrible act. On the other hand, minorities who commit crimes are often viewed violent and savage with malicious intent of harming others. I have seen this narrative played over and over again, especially with mass shootings. Recently with the Florida school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School the shooter Nikolas Cruz who killed 17 people was said to be a “deeply disturbed and emotionally broken young boy” (CNN, Sanchez). This statement is providing an excuse for Cruz’s murders since his orphan status gives him credit for being mentally ill. Offenders that are not perceived as white are seen as heartless vandals, even when they actually are mentally disturbed. When victims are presented in the media it is often white young girls who serve as the posterchildren for the ideal victim. It is less often you will see a little white boy as a victim, but even rarer to see minorities, especially when they are girls, depicted as victims. This creates a theme amongst communities that victims are often caucasian and criminals are minorities. Even though this is not true, the media portrayal of such incidents influences what people think about