Gendered victim-blame and survivor representation framing on television

Abstract

Victim-blaming continues to be a recurring feature in media portrayals of sexual assault survivors. However, research has not explored differences in portrayals of male and female sexual assault survivors. Because the presence of victim-blaming can be presented in ways that serve to reinforce or criticize the adoption of victim-blaming attitudes, it is crucial to explore and identify any gender differences in the presence of victim-blaming in fictional sexual assault survivor portrayals. This study extends existing research by qualitatively comparing portrayals of male and female survivors in the same fictional television programs to identify any differences in victim-blaming. In an ethnographic content analysis of 41 episodes of 13 Reasons Why and 20 episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU), the study explores qualitative thematic differences in victim-blame frames of male and female survivors. The findings revealed thematic differences in the types of subthemes utilized in male and female survivor portrayals to denote victim-blame.