How Ageist and Sexist Framing Is Used in Turkish Media To Normalize Femicide: A Content Analysis

Authors

  • Merve Basdogan Indiana University, Bloomington
  • Zulfukar Ozdogan Indiana University, Bloomington
  • Lesa Huber Indiana University, Bloomington

Keywords:

femicide, ageism, sexism, Turkish news, framing violence

Abstract

More than 2,800 women in Turkey were murdered by male partners or family members between 2010 and 2020. Research on domestic violence against women in Turkey indicates that exposure to physical or sexual domestic violence increases with age, yet femicide against older women is rarely studied. We conducted a content analysis of 66 publicly archived Turkish mainstream media news stories about the murders of older women from 2010 to 2017. Textual and visual content was analyzed to examine how the femicide of older women was portrayed. Story writers used three primary communication frames in the text and visual content and structure: (1) attribution of responsibility, (2) morality, and (3) human interest. Word choice, sentence structure, and story content used ageist and sexist biases to portray the victim as morally reprehensible or troublesome, while promoting sympathy and excusing responsibility for the perpetrator. Implicit and explicit ageism and sexism in Turkish news deflect from the social injustice of femicide, normalizing violence against aging women.

Author Biographies

Merve Basdogan, Indiana University, Bloomington

Merve Basdogan is a Doctoral Candidate at Indiana University (IU) with a major in Instructional Systems Technology and a minor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. Merve’s research focuses on exploring, understanding, and supporting strategies for learners’ engagement in both online and face-to-face contexts with an emphasis on personalized and technology-supported learning design.  Merve is currently working for IU’s Mosaic Active Learning Initiative (https://mosaic.iu.edu/) to research active and flexible learning.E-mail: basdogan@iu.edu

Zulfukar Ozdogan, Indiana University, Bloomington

Zulfukar Ozdogan is a Doctoral Candidate at Indiana University with a major in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology and a minor in Germanic Studies. His research interest is “Recognition in Qualitative Research.” Zulfukar taught a graduate-level critical qualitative inquiry course at IU and lectured on how to use Computer Assisted Qualitative Analysis Software (CAQDAS). He is currently working as an online instructional designer at eLearning Design & Services (eDS) in IU Learning Technologies.

Lesa Huber, Indiana University, Bloomington

Lesa Huber is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and the School of Education. She is the 2013 recipient of the Hiram S. Friedman Award for mentorship. She developed and is the director of two minors and a graduate certificate in gerontology. Her primary interest is in the biological, psychological, and social determinants of aging well.  Working with students, she is exploring the potential of new technologies to support independent living in later life.

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Published

2021-06-29

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

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