Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Type
Thesis
Department
Sociology
Advisor(s)
Amy McClure
Second Advisor
Amy Armenia
Third Advisor
Stephanie Guittar Gonzalez
Abstract
In 2017, The New York Times published an article titled, “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades” written by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (2019), exposing one of the most abusive sexual predators in Hollywood. This sparked a movement among victim-survivors and their allies now known as the #MeToo Movement. This movement brought issues of sexual assault to the forefront. The New York Times covered this movement extensively and can be considered very influential in their coverage of the movement. For this project, I conducted a content analysis of 31 New York Times articles to identify how The New York Times framed the #MeToo Movement as it was unfolding. After coding for narrative construction of the abuser and victim-survivor, noting structural implications, and coding rape myths and rape culture within their text, I found that The New York Times tended to maintain focus on victim-survivors over abusers. I also document the presence of rape myths and sociologically analyze the implications of these enduring myths. I note that while rape culture was not explicit in articles, there was more subtle language that I suggest needs reconsideration. Further research should focus on other institutions within our culture that may be supporting or resisting rape culture (i.e. the government).
Recommended Citation
Jureller, Hannah, "Socially Constructing the #MeToo Movement in The New York Times" (2020). Sociology. 1.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/honors-in-the-major-sociology/1
Comments
Hannah R. Jureller is the rights holder of this thesis.