As the main vehicle through which the majority of the population comes to understand the world around them, the media has the power to dominate public opinion, reinforce traditional notions and introduce new ideologies. With regards to gender, the media’s role is two-prong: it pathologizes and highlights gender deviance, and simultaneous reinforces culturally constructed gender norms. The current study examines media representations of Mary Winkler, a Tennessee woman who shot her minister husband to death in 2006. Winkler’s role as the wife of a religious and community leader implies high morality, sexual demureness, nurturance and obedience. Because Winkler’s involvement in the shooting death of her husband severely conflict with these social and gender role expectations, this work examines how Winkler’s social position affect media depictions of her criminality, and the implications of these depictions on society’s perception of gender, religion, and crime. To answer these questions, 97 newspapers articles produced between April 9th, 2007 (the first day of Winkler’s trial) and August 15, 2007 (the date of Winkler’s release on parole) were analyzed using content analysis methodology. The study results show that Winkler’s adherence to feminine norms was highly influential in her construction as a sympathetic figure and her receipt of a lesser conviction of voluntary manslaughter. / text

The murderess in the twenty-first century is a figure of particular cultural fascination; she is the subject of innumerable books, websites, documentaries and award-winning movies. With female violence reportedly on the increase, a rethinking of beliefs about women's natural propensity towards violent and aggressive behaviours is inevitable. Using the Victorian period as a central focus, this thesis explores the contradictory ideologies regarding women's violence and also suggests an alternative approach to the relationship between gender and violence in the future. A study of violent women in representation reveals how Victorian attitudes towards violence and femininity persist today. On the one hand, women have traditionally been cast as the naturally non-aggressive victims of violence rather than its perpetrators; on the other hand, the destructive potential of womanhood has been a cause of anxiety since the earliest Western mythology. I suggest that it is a desire to resolve this contradiction that has resulted in the proliferation of violent women in representation over the last one and a half centuries. In particular, an analysis of mid-nineteenth-century popular fiction indicates that the stronger the ideal of the angelic woman was, the greater the anxiety produced by her demonic antithesis. Wilkie Collins's Armadale and Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret illustrate both the contradictory Victorian attitudes towards violent women and a need to reconcile the combination of good and bad femininity that the murderess represents. Revisiting the Victorian murderess in the late twentieth century provides a potential means for resolving this contradiction; specifically, it enables the violent woman to engage in a process of self-representation that was not available to her in the nineteenth century. Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace suggests that any insight into the murderess begins with listening to the previously silenced voice of the violent woman herself.

Våld i nära relationer är ett omdiskuterat och välkänt samhällsproblem. Ofta handlar dialogen om mäns våld mot kvinnor och det talas sällan om att en man utsätts för våld av en kvinnlig partner. Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet var att beskriva mäns erfarenheter av att vara utsatta för våld av en kvinnlig partner i en nära relation. Metod: En litteraturöversikt gjordes där fem kvalitativa och tre kvantitativa artiklar inkluderades. Databaserna som användes var CINAHL, PsycInfo och PsycArticles. Dataanalysen utgick från en trestegsmodell och samtliga artiklar granskades genom en kvalitetsgranskningsmall. Resultat: Under analysen framkom huvudkategorierna "Erfarenheter och konsekvenser av våldet", med subkategorier "Fysiskavåldshandlingar", "Psykiska våldshandlingar", "Hälsoeffekter" och "Sociala effekter", "Omgivningens dubbelhet" med subkategorier "Myndigheters bemötande" och "Närståendes förhållningssätt" samt huvudkategorin "Kvinnans makt och kontroll". Resultatet visar att män upplever både fysiskt, psykiskt och sexuellt våld från en kvinnlig partner i en nära relation. Det framkommer även att underliggande genusnormer och stereotypiska antaganden hindrar män frånatt betraktas som egentliga offer. Konklusion: Mäns utsatthet för våld i en nära relation är enkomplex problematik som är starkt förknippad med samhällets normer och antaganden ommaskulinitet. Professionella brister i sitt bemötande av våldsutsatta män vilket kan få stora konsekvenser för mannen. För att få mer kunskap och bättre förståelse för mäns utsatthet av våld i en nära relation behöver problemet synliggöras ytterligare och diskuteras på både individ- och samhällsnivå. Praktiska implikationer: Adekvat utbildning kan bidra till att professionella får rätt verktyg för att bemöta våldsutsatta män vilket kan leda till en minskad utsatthet och ökad hälsa hos utsatta män. Examensarbetet kan bidra till att förbättra det preventiva arbetet inom till exempel hälso- och sjukvård och socialtjänst för att förhindra att män faller offer för våld, då dessa myndigheter ofta har en betydande roll i att upptäcka våldet. Förslag till fortsatt kunskapsutveckling: Ytterligare forskning krävs kring mäns utsatthet för våld i nära heterosexuella relationer för att bryta stigmatiseringen kring utsattheten och bidra med kunskap till professionella inom människobehandlande yrken som möter dessa män. / Domestic violence is a debated and well-known social problem. Often, the dialogue is about men's violence against women and it is rarely mentioned that a man is subjected to violence by a female partner. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe men's experiences of being subjected to violence by a female partner in an intimate relationship. Method: A literature review was conducted which included five qualitative and three quantitative articles. The databases used were CINAHL, PsycInfo and PsycArticles. The data analysis was based on a three-step model and all articles were reviewed through a quality assessment template. Findings: During the analysis one main category that emerged was "Experiences and consequences caused by violence", with the sub categories "Physical acts of violence", "Psychological acts of violence", "Health effects" and "Social effects", another main category was "The ambiguity of the environment " with sub categories "The response of authorities " and "The approach of relatives" and the last main category was "The woman's power and control". The results show that men experience both physical, mental and sexual violence from a female partner in an intimate relationship. It also appears in the study's findings that underlying gender-based normsand stereotypical assumptions prevent men from being considered as actual victims. Conclusion: Men's exposure to violence in an intimate relationship is a complex problem that is strongly associated with society's norms and assumptions about masculinity. Professional shortcomings in the treatment of abused men can have major consequences for the man. In order to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of men's exposure to violence in an intimate relationship, the problem needs to be further visualized and discussed at both individual and societal levels. Practical implications: Adequate education can help professionals get the right tools to deal with abused men, which can lead to reduced vulnerability and increased health of abused men. The study can help to improve preventive work in, for example, health care and social services to prevent men from falling victim to violence, as these authorities often have a significant role indetecting violence. Suggestions for continued knowledge development: Further research is required on men's exposure to violence in intimate heterosexual relationships to break the stigma around the exposure of violence and to contribute with knowledge to professionals in the humantreatment professions who encounter these men.

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Roman Polanski est un cinéaste franco-polonais considéré comme fugitif par Interpol depuis 1978. En 1977, lors d’un procès pour viol, le réalisateur de 44 ans plaide coupable pour relations sexuelles illégales avec une fille de 13 ans. À sa sortie de prison, par crainte que le juge ne revienne sur sa décision de remise en liberté, Roman Polanski fuit les États-Unis pour se réfugier en France. Le réalisateur poursuivra une carrière à succès dans l’univers du septième art. À ce jour, douze femmes l’accusent de violences à caractère sexuel. Ce mémoire de maîtrise est une analyse qualitative réalisée à partir de la méthode de cadrage sur le déploiement des discours de la controverse associée à Roman Polanski dans la presse française. Les cadres relevés sont les suivants : la culture du viol (1), l’artiste et son œuvre (2), la Justice (3) et la complaisance (4). Nous avons rassemblé un échantillon de 100 articles de presse publiés entre 2002 et 2020 dans trois quotidiens: Libération, Le Monde et Le Figaro. L’analyse est réalisée à partir d’un cadre théorique issu des études féministes, plus particulièrement selon les perspectives du féminisme radical et matérialiste. L’objectif de la recherche est d’illustrer et de comprendre comment s’articulent les discours associés à la controverse Roman Polanski dans la presse en France, et à plus grande échelle dans la société française. / Roman Polanski is a French-Polish filmmaker who has been considered a fugitive by Interpol since 1978. In 1977, during a trial for rape, the 44-year-old director plead guilty to illegal sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl. Upon his release from prison, fearing that the judge would reverse his decision to release him, Roman Polanski fled the United States to take refuge in France. The director would go on to pursue a successful career in the world of cinema. To date, twelve women have accused him of committing acts of sexual violence. This dissertation is a qualitative analysis carried out using the framing method on the deployment of the discourses of the controversy associated with Roman Polanski in the French press. The analytical frames identified are: rape culture (1), the artist and his work (2), Justice (3) and complacency (4). We collected a sample of 100 press articles published between 2002 and 2020 in three daily French newspapers: Libération, Le Monde and Le Figaro. The analysis is carried out from a theoretical framework derived from feminist studies, more specifically from the perspectives of radical and materialist feminism. The objective of this research is to illustrate and to understand how the rhetoric associated with the Roman Polanski controversy are articulated in the media in France, as well as on a larger scale in French society.