Writing Terror on the Bodies of Women: Media Coverage of Violence against Women in Guatemala analyzes the scope and dynamics of violence against women in Guatemala and how it is represented in the print media. Using nearly two thousand Guatemalan newspaper reports covering murders and assaults on women, this book contextualizes violence against women within the history of violence in Guatemala; gender ideologies and patriarchal social structures; and the contemporary demands of the women's movement for social and legislative change. It shows that while some newspapers cover violence against women with investigative reports and editorials that use feminist analysis and language, these are overshadowed by the large number of individual reports that reproduce narratives of terror and conceal the gendered nature of violence against women by suggesting that "delinquents," "gangs," "unknown men," and inexplicably violent husbands are the main culprits, while simultaneously upholding dichotomous gendered narratives of "good" and "bad" wives and daughters.
Acknowledgments List of Organizations and Acronyms List of Tables Part I. Framing the Problem Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Violence against Women and the Media: Theory and Methods Part II. The Specter of Gendered Terrorism: A History of Violence and Violence against Women in Guatemala Chapter 3. A Good Place to Commit Murder: A History of Violence in Guatemala Chapter 4. The War against Women: A History of Violence against Women in Guatemala Chapter 5. The Growth of the Women's Movement and Challenges to the Patriarchal State Part III. Talk of Crime and Narratives of Terror Written on Women's Bodies: Blaming Gangs and Delinquents Chapter 6. Visible Violence, Invisible Assassins: "Necrographic Maps" and Terror in Guatemalan Murder Reports Chapter 7. "Easy Targets," "Cannon Fodder," and "The Wrong Crowd": Framing Women as Innocent or Guilty Victims of Gangs and Delinquents Part IV. Blaming the Patriarchal Family and State Chapter 8. "Violence lies in wait for women at home:" Framing VAW as Domestic Violence Chapter 9. "For no apparent reason," "in a drunken state," "blinded by jealousy," "after an argument," and Other Stories of "love gone wrong" that Frame Domestic Violence Reports Chapter 10. From Genocide to Feminicide: Blaming Patriarchy, Impunity, and the State for VAW Conclusion References About the Author
