Virgin or Vamp: How the Press Covers Sex Crimes - Hardcover

Benedict, Helen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195066804 ISBN 13: 9780195066807

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992

Synopsis

The national press has recently 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 a virginal woman against an unwilling or monstrous man. Such extreme coverage, argues Helen Benedict, perpetuates myths that are harmful to the victims of these crimes (and sometimes to the accused). With the rise in reported rapes, more such myth-mongering stories are bound to be seen in the future. In Virgin or Vamp, Benedict addresses the press's tendency to misrepresent rape, denigrate victims, and invade the privacy of its subjects, while also pointing out the press's critical role in informing and educating the public.
In this timely book, Benedict draws on her experience as a reporter and professor of journalism to examine the print press's treatment of four prominent sex crimes from the past decade--the Rideout marital rape trial in Oregon, the Big Dan's pool table gang rape in New Bedford , Massachusetts, the "Preppy Murder" in New York, and the Central Park jogger rape. By analyzing the language of the original news stories and interviewing the original reporters, Benedict identifies the press's tendency to label victims as either virgins or vamps, a practice she condemns as misleading and harmful. For example, she finds that the press worked so hard at portraying Jennifer Levin, the victim of the "Preppy Murder," as a man-chasing vamp that it made her seem as responsible for her death as was her killer, Robert Chambers. Likewise, Benedict shows how the press depicted Greta Rideout as a hysterical wife who accused her husband of rape for revenge, rather than as a victim of domestic battery who eventually escaped--the truth of the case.
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 (more positive words exist to describe men than women), the press's tendency to use sexually suggestive language to describe crime victims, and its preference for crimes against whites. In her conclusion, Benedict analyzes the William Kennedy Smith rape case, and argues that the debate over naming victims is misconceived in light of the press's current lack of understanding about rape.
More than a critique about the way the print press covers sex crimes, Virgin or Vamp also reveals the roots of rape coverage in the days of lynching, and shows how deep traditionalist views of women still run. Benedict concludes with both practical and radical suggestions of how reporters can challenge such views by covering these increasingly common crimes without further harming the victims, the defendants, or public understanding.

About this title

About the Author

About the Author:
Helen Benedict is Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University. Her articles on rape and sexual assault have been published widely in newspapers and magazines, and she is the author of several books, including Recovery: How to Survive Sexual Assault, Portraits in Print, and A World Like This.

Review

"Helen Benedict calmly and crisply dissects the way misogyny and ignorance shape media coverage of crimes of sexual violence--biases that have increased during the past decade....A great gift for the journalists on your list--and to go by recent headlines, the judges and senators,
too."--Kathqa Pollitt, The Nation

"Makes a powerful case for a new approach to the coverage of sex crimes by daily newspapers."--The New York Times Book Review

"This outstanding book should be required reading for all media people."--Publishers Weekly

"An essential purchase for communications and women's studies collections."--Library Journal

"Helen Benedict brilliantly analyzes the many ways in which the media perpetuates myths and stereotypes about rape. Elegantly written and carefully documented, Virgin or Vamp should be required reading for journalists -- and the rest of us."--Katha Pollitt, writer, The Nation

"Helen Benedict has done a fine job in uncovering bias and misinformation in news reports of some well-known rape cases. Virgin or Vamp will be a valuable aid wherever journalism is taught."--Susan Brownmiller, author of Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape

"Long Dong Silver. The rape trials of Willie Smith and Mike Tyson. Harassment and violence against women are more reported than ever, but public response, including press coverage reveals that many people still believe women provoke abuse--that punishment is their deserved condition. Helen
Benedict's Virgin or Vamp could not be more timely and tough-minded. She peels back the myths that steer supposed objective journalism, never stinting on lively prose of the hidden injuries to women."--Laurie Stone, columnist, Village Voice

"Since Helen Benedict is both an authority on rape and a distinguished journalist, she is uniquely qualified to examine how journalists usually cover sex crimes. Her analysis of the biases and blunders of the press is thorough, lucid, and utterly persuasive....Virgin or Vamp is an exceedingly
important book--necessary reading for conscientious reporters and editors, and for everyone concerned about the quality and fairness of what the press sees fit to print."--Ann Jones, author of Women Who Kill

"Intelligently conceived, structured and delivered....Drawing on her knowledge of newsroom habits and the newsgathering process, Benedict effectively advocates balance and more thoughtful analysis in sex-crime reporting, the elimination of sexist vocabulary, rape training for reporters, the
hiring of more female and black crime reporters, and an end to blaming the victim....Victim or Vamp indicts America's anti-female culture as much as its press, and takes a strong step toward much-needed rehabilitation."--St. Petersburg Times

"Few recent books may be as important to the pratice of journalism as Virgin or Vamp, Helen Benedict's sobering lucid and often infuriating examination of how victims of rape are treated by the press....Her suggestions for reform, succinctly taken up in the last 15 pages of the book, should be
required reading for editors and reporters alike."--Quill

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0195066804
• ISBN 13: 9780195066807
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320