Using a Racialized Gender Lens to Analyze Media Representations of Sexual Assault on College Campuses

• In Event: Gender Narratives and Institutional Contexts

Abstract

Sexual assault on college campuses has received a great deal of media attention within the last two years. These media representations must be analyzed to understand the stories they are perpetuating. I use a racialized gender conceptual framework and a method of discourse analysis to analyze nine popular media articles and one documentary. I aim to spark a dialogue about who is left out of the conversation as well as the implications of the current, race-neutral discussion about sexual assault and relationship violence on college campuses in the U.S. I found, through my analysis, that the popular media privilege certain stories and erase the experiences of women of color with relationship violence and sexual assault in college.

Author

• Sapna Naik, Michigan State University