Historically, the criminal justice system’s treatment of women who have killed violent husbands has been harsh. The violence endured by these women and by women in general was, in fact, condoned by society, as is suggested by the so-called “rule of thumb.” This alluded to the fact that it was legal for a man to […]

A historical basis for modern fascination with women-who-kill may be found in the trial narratives of women condemned of murder, in which the repre­sentations of actual women killers are strongly coded and mingle with a pub­lic fascination. Prominent cases include those of Ruth Ellis in 1954 (the last woman to be hanged in England), Myra […]

SYLVIE FRIGON [ 1 ] Fallen women. Unruly women. Deviant women. Women who kill. They are dark creatures, dark characters who disturb and fascinate. Although many contemporary films and prime-time television shows have been devoted to crime, this interest in the representation of crime for public edification is not a new phenomenon. The fascination for […]

On 4 October 2004 Amnesty International released Stolen Sisters: Discrimina­tion and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada: A Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns. The summary states: A shocking 1996 Canadian government statistic reveals that Indigenous women between the ages of 25 and 44, with status under the Indian Act, were five times more likely than […]

Cultural Studies is the multi — and interdisciplinary study of culture, defined anthropologically as a “way of life,” performatively as symbolic practice, and ideologically as the collective product of media and cultural industries, i. e., pop culture. Although Cultural Studies is a relative newcomer to the human­ities and social sciences, in less than half a […]