Narrative and ideologies of violence against women: The Legend of the Black Lagoon

Abstract

The complete eradication of violence against women remains a challenge for 21st-century societies. In Spain 606 women were killed by their partners or ex-partners in the period 2003–2011 inclusive. Figures like these make this phenomenon a very serious social problem which requires intervention at a plurality of levels. The language used in narratives about these issues is very important. It can be an additional factor that contributes to the transmission of sexism and the perpetuation of indirect sexist ideologies that naturalize violence against women. This article presents a critical stylistics analysis of one such narrative from a feminist point of view. It is a text displayed at a Visitors’ Centre in Spain to show local culture to children and the tourists who visit the area. Applying a combined methodology based on feminism, stylistics and critical discourse analysis, the analysis carried out shows how the text conveys an underlying sexist ideology that normalizes violence against women and adopts a victim-blaming stance. The article concludes by stressing the need to raise awareness of the consequences of indirect sexism and naturalized ideologies covert in discourse, particularly in the field of writing for children and in the public domain in general.