Exploring the Societal Construction of Deviance: A Media Framing Analysis of Prostitution in Germany

• In Event: Media and social construction of crime I

Abstract

Background: Prostitution has been a controversial topic of public debate and legal regulation in many countries, including Germany, for centuries. One main position sees prostitution as a deviant behaviour that should be suppressed by criminalization (deviance frame with different lines of argumentation in terms of subframes). Another main position sees prostitution as a legitimate form of work that should be decriminalized (conformity frame with different lines of argumentation in terms of subframes). Research Aim: Based on the labelling approach (Howard Becker, 1963) and the theoretical concept of media framing (Robert Entman, 1993), the current study aims to investigate the prevalence of the deviance and conformity frames and their subframes in the current press coverage on prostitution in Germany. Methods: A sample of prostitution-related press articles from high quality and tabloid newspapers in Germany was drawn and coded using a reliability-tested codebook derived from the literature. Results: The results show a relatively broad prevalence of the deviance frame and its subframes, while the conformity frame and its subframes are less visible. Discussion: Press coverage of prostitution draws on the deviance frame while the academic literature broadly questions deviance and criminalization. Implications of the findings for current debates on prostitution regulation are discussed.

Authors

• Robert Küster, Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN)

• Nicola Döring, Ilmenau University of Technology