Labelling/ Dehumanising the female murderers
The labelling is a usually seen narrative when reporting female killers. In the three sampling cases, labels of sad woman, mad woman and bad mother are found:
a. Jessie Donker
Words used: “battered”, “beaten woman”, “tearful court” (Herald Sun, Flower 2018)
In Jessie Donker’s case, only the Herald Sun labelled her directly in the article. The Herald Sun used “beaten” & “battered” in the headline to show Jessie Donker received long-term abuse (Flower 2018). The “tearful court” is the label given on the sentence and the incident which is sad result caused by long-term domestic violence (Flower 2018).
As discussed in Berrington and Honkatukia (2002), the female killers sometimes labelled as sad woman. …show more content…
Jemma Lilley
Words used: “knife-obsessed Lilley” (Sydney Morning Herald 2017); “psychopathic murder”, “thrill kill murderer”, “sick mind”, “sinister” (The Daily Telegraph, Sutton 2018); “thrill kill”, “cruel, inhumane and totally dysfunctional” (Herald Sun, Clarke 2017); “sadistic”, “thrill-killer” (The Australian, Taylor 2018); “thrill killing”, “high disturbed, sadistic and narcissistic”, “callous”, “literal psychopath”, “obsessed with serial killers and knives” (The Age, McNeill 2018).
The portrayal of Jemma Lilley in the sampling articles labelled her as a psychopath and evil monster. The overall pattern of the articles covering the incident mentioning Jemma Lilley is a mad or psychopath. The articles directly use “psychopath”/ “sinister” to refer Jemma Lilley (Sutton 2018; McNeill 2018). The desire of being a serial killer driven her to kill Aaron Pajich, the victim. The word “sadistic” and “thrill-kill” repeatedly appears in the news articles of The Australian, The Age and The Daily Telegraph to emphasise her evil of killing someone anonymous (Clarke 2017; Taylor 2018; McNeill 2018). The descriptive words “cruel”, “inhumane”, “merciless” and “callous” shaped a sharp image of cold-blood (Clarke 2017; McNeill 2018; Taylor 2018). The above evil abnormal descriptions and labels have significantly dehumanised Jemma Lilley from an ordinary woman. The five news articles emphasis the narrative of Lilley’s fantasies to be a serial killer or killing a person throughout the whole …show more content…
Raina Thaiday
Words used: “cannabis use”, “psychotic state”, “result of psychotic”, “very disturbed” (Sydney Morning Herlad, Branco 2017); “cruel”, “different beast” (Herald Sun, Micheal 2017; “insane”, “psychotic”, “mental illness”, “long-term cannabis user” (The Australian 2017); “psychotic state”, “stressed and serious”, “clearly psychotic”. “mentally ill”, “kicked a heavy cannabis” (The Age, Branco 2017).
The news covering Raina Thaiday killed 8 children do not directly label her as deviance or evil. The articles focus on the mental issue Raina Thaiday had. According to the psychiatrists, Raina Thaiday had a serious, extraordinary schizophrenia when the killing happened (Branco 2017; The Australian 2017; Branco 2017). The mental illness caused her heard the sound of ‘God’ (Branco 2017; The Australian 2017; Branco
The labelling is a usually seen narrative when reporting female killers. In the three sampling cases, labels of sad woman, mad woman and bad mother are found:
a. Jessie Donker
Words used: “battered”, “beaten woman”, “tearful court” (Herald Sun, Flower 2018)
In Jessie Donker’s case, only the Herald Sun labelled her directly in the article. The Herald Sun used “beaten” & “battered” in the headline to show Jessie Donker received long-term abuse (Flower 2018). The “tearful court” is the label given on the sentence and the incident which is sad result caused by long-term domestic violence (Flower 2018).
As discussed in Berrington and Honkatukia (2002), the female killers sometimes labelled as sad woman. …show more content…
Jemma Lilley
Words used: “knife-obsessed Lilley” (Sydney Morning Herald 2017); “psychopathic murder”, “thrill kill murderer”, “sick mind”, “sinister” (The Daily Telegraph, Sutton 2018); “thrill kill”, “cruel, inhumane and totally dysfunctional” (Herald Sun, Clarke 2017); “sadistic”, “thrill-killer” (The Australian, Taylor 2018); “thrill killing”, “high disturbed, sadistic and narcissistic”, “callous”, “literal psychopath”, “obsessed with serial killers and knives” (The Age, McNeill 2018).
The portrayal of Jemma Lilley in the sampling articles labelled her as a psychopath and evil monster. The overall pattern of the articles covering the incident mentioning Jemma Lilley is a mad or psychopath. The articles directly use “psychopath”/ “sinister” to refer Jemma Lilley (Sutton 2018; McNeill 2018). The desire of being a serial killer driven her to kill Aaron Pajich, the victim. The word “sadistic” and “thrill-kill” repeatedly appears in the news articles of The Australian, The Age and The Daily Telegraph to emphasise her evil of killing someone anonymous (Clarke 2017; Taylor 2018; McNeill 2018). The descriptive words “cruel”, “inhumane”, “merciless” and “callous” shaped a sharp image of cold-blood (Clarke 2017; McNeill 2018; Taylor 2018). The above evil abnormal descriptions and labels have significantly dehumanised Jemma Lilley from an ordinary woman. The five news articles emphasis the narrative of Lilley’s fantasies to be a serial killer or killing a person throughout the whole …show more content…
Raina Thaiday
Words used: “cannabis use”, “psychotic state”, “result of psychotic”, “very disturbed” (Sydney Morning Herlad, Branco 2017); “cruel”, “different beast” (Herald Sun, Micheal 2017; “insane”, “psychotic”, “mental illness”, “long-term cannabis user” (The Australian 2017); “psychotic state”, “stressed and serious”, “clearly psychotic”. “mentally ill”, “kicked a heavy cannabis” (The Age, Branco 2017).
The news covering Raina Thaiday killed 8 children do not directly label her as deviance or evil. The articles focus on the mental issue Raina Thaiday had. According to the psychiatrists, Raina Thaiday had a serious, extraordinary schizophrenia when the killing happened (Branco 2017; The Australian 2017; Branco 2017). The mental illness caused her heard the sound of ‘God’ (Branco 2017; The Australian 2017; Branco