04083nam 2200685Ia 450 991082573010332120200520144314.01-280-44224-797866104422491-4237-3830-60-19-535872-41-60129-956-7(CKB)1000000000028718(OCoLC)70731352(CaPaEBR)ebrary10087198(SSID)ssj0000267693(PQKBManifestationID)11233074(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000267693(PQKBWorkID)10209296(PQKB)11246028(MiAaPQ)EBC3051925(Au-PeEL)EBL3051925(CaPaEBR)ebr10087198(CaONFJC)MIL44224(OCoLC)922952642(MiAaPQ)EBC241268(Au-PeEL)EBL241268(EXLCZ)99100000000002871819940429d1992 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierVirgin or vamp how the press covers sex crimes /Helen Benedict1st ed.New York ;London Oxford University Press19921 online resource (318 pages)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-19-508665-1 Includes bibliography: p. 295-299 and index.Intro -- CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. Rape Myths, Language, and the Portrayal of Women in the Media -- 2. Sex Crimes in the Press: A Recent History -- 3. "A Policeman in Every Bedroom": The 1978-1979 Greta and John Rideout Marital Rape Case -- 4. "She Should Be Punished": The 1983-1984 New Bedford "Big Dan's" Gang Rape -- 5. "How Jennifer Courted Death": The 1986 Killing of Jennifer Levin -- 6. The Jogger and the Wolfpack: The 1989-1990 Central Park Jogger Case -- 7. Conclusion: How the Press Should Cover Sex Crimes -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX.In the last few years, the national press has lavished coverage on several major sex-related scandals: the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings, the William Kennedy Smith rape trial, and the Mike Tyson case. With each event came lurid stories pitting either a loose or virginal woman against an unwilling or monstrous man. Such extreme coverage, argues Helen Benedict, perpetuates myths that are harmful to victims of these crimes (and sometimes to the accused). In Virgin or Vamp Benedict examines the press's treatment of four notorious sex crimes from the past decade--the Rideout marital rape trial in Oregon, the Big Dan's pool table gang rape in Massachusetts, the "Preppy Murder" in New York City, and the Central Park jogger case--and shows how victims are labelled either as virgins or vamps, a practice she condemns as misleading and harmful. Benedict also looks at other factors that perpetuate the misunderstanding of rape. For instance, she shows how the New York press presented the Central Park jogger rape case as motivated by racism because of its unwillingness to consider rape an issue of gender. She also addresses our inherent language bias, the press's tendency to use sexually suggestive language to describe crime victims, and its preference for crimes against whites. In conclusion, Benedict offers a number of solutions that will help reporters cover these increasingly common crimes without further harming the victims, the defendants, or public understanding..Sex crimesPress coverageUnited StatesPressUnited StatesPublic opinionPublic opinionUnited StatesMass mediaObjectivityUnited StatesSex crimesPress coveragePressPublic opinion.Public opinionMass mediaObjectivity364.1/53Benedict Helen183266MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910825730103321Virgin or vamp552770UNINA