Miss Monstress: The Trial of Womanhood and Rhetorical Framing of Texas Women on Trial for Murder

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

Department

Literature and Languages

Date of Award

5-22-2024

Abstract

This dissertation is a rhetorical analysis of the cases of three Texas women who were charged with murder. I examine the rhetoric used by the media and the prosecution to describe these women, and the ways they dehumanize and other the women on trial. I argue that the societal expectations placed on women—to be gentle, submissive, and nurturers—causes a culture to reel in horror and disgust when she is accused of a violent crime like murder. What takes place is what I call the trial of womanhood—a close examination of her identity as a woman, and a focus on the ways she fails to meet the societal expectations placed upon her. This rhetorical trial takes place both inside the courtroom and outside, in the court of public opinion, and often results in women being misrepresented, and receiving harsher—and at times, fatal—sentences. Looking at cases specifically from the State of Texas, I argue that this response reflects a place-based ideology in a state that is notoriously conservative, pro-death penalty, and harsh on violent criminals. Drawing from several different sub-fields of rhetoric (feminist rhetoric, embodied rhetoric, place-based rhetoric) and feminist criminology, I analyze two different case studies: Darlie Routier, a white mother accused of murdering her sons; and Bobbi Jo Smith, a white queer woman accused of being an accessory to her partner Jennifer Jones in the murder of Bob Dow. With each case, I will analyze artifacts—documentaries, court documents, true crime books, newspaper articles, etc.—and examine specifically the language used to describe these women and the ways certain aspects of their identity (their roles as mothers, their race, their sexuality, their class) intersected with their identity as women and were used against them. Finally, I close by analyzing one more case study: Joyce Ann Brown, a Black woman accused of murder and sentenced to life in prison but eventually released and exonerated. I demonstrate how Brown used her story and experience as a counterstory to not only call attention to the injustice she experienced, but to also advocate for others who were wrongly incarcerated. I close by suggesting that counterstories are a solution for combating the trial of womanhood.

Advisor

Ashanka Kumari

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | Rhetoric and Composition

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS