True crime—whether appearing in books, podcasts, films, internet forums, or documentaries—is a burgeoning area of entertainment. The narrativization of crime relies on sensationalism; it is designed to evoke an emotional experience and inform emotional states (Bishop 2014; Robertson 2019; Wiltenburg 2004). Data suggests that over 70% of true crime consumers of true crime are women, and the vast majority are White, heterosexually-partnered, and college educated (Boling and Hull 2018; Ask Wonder 2020). To account for this gendered pattern of consumption, scholars argue that fear of being a victim, learning “survival” strategies, and/or navigating past traumas motivates women’s disproportionate consumption, rendering true crime a form of narrative risk management (Browder 2006; Vicary and Fraley 2010). However, this does not completely explain the draw for true crime, especially when analyzed along the axis of race. If consumption of true crime is a coping strategy to deal with myriad forms of gendered vulnerability, why do White women partake while women of color—particularly Black, Latina/x/e, and Indigenous women, who are statistically more at risk for such egregious violence—do not?
I use true crime as a case to theorize the relationship between gender, race, and emotion, especially perceptions of risk and vulnerability. This cross-disciplinary dissertation uses survey data, over 120 interviews, responsive journaling, and comparative discourse analysis of popular true crime coverage, to theorize the relationship of race, gender, and emotion in the production and consumption of true crime. Moving beyond a simple critique of textual representation, I argue the charged and selective stories in true crime, as well as its formulaic structure and content, are a site of racialization vis-à-vis narrative and emotive constructions of risk and social control. These narratives of “White-on-White” crime represent a White myth, adapted for a moment where (White) America is paradoxically more aware of racial inequality while retaining notions of a “post-race” and “color blind” society. I further examine the interrelationship of race, gender, and emotion in the engagement and effects of true crime communities, including the role of (anticipated) victimhood, fear, as well as perceptions of risk, resistance, and time. In closing, I examine the maintenance and violation of feeling rules (Hochschild 1979; Wingfield 2010), or “appropriate” displays of affect, in true crime consumption. I further explore how lived distance from violence is inversely related to one’s tolerance for representations of violence, and how the emotional experience of gendered vulnerability is translated into extensions of state power. In sum, this project explores how Whiteness and femininity undergird a draw towards dark leisure as a site of “edutainment,” or educational-entertainment, as well as knowledge consumption and production. / 2025-09-18T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46941 |
| Date | 19 September 2023 |
| Creators | Mooney, Heather A. |
| Contributors | Simes, Jessica T. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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