Citation

Reimers E. Fem. Media Stud. 2007; 7(3): 239-255.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14680770701477867

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study uses discourse analysis to examine representations found in Swedish newspapers of the murder of a Kurdish woman perpetrated by her father. It discloses representations of a media event that reiterate intersecting norms concerning ethnicity, gender and social class, which together delineate boundaries and significant core values for a hegemonic notion of the Swedish. Notions of ethnicity, class, and gender are articulated together, forming a dichotomy between a modern, tolerant Sweden and an obsolete, conceited other. In putting forward integration as the solution to honor-motivated male violence against women, the discourse presumes and reiterates the Swedish as signified by gender equality and, because social class and ethnicity are articulated together, integration becomes synonymous with social mobility. By presenting a culturalized interpretation of the killing, the discourse conceals possible connections between the male violence perpetrated by immigrants and the more common violence perpetrated by non-immigrants.