Women Who Kill Men: California Courts, Gender, and the Press

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were a revolutionary period in the lives of women, and the shifting perceptions of women and their role in society were equally apparent in the courtroom. Women Who Kill Men examines eighteen sensational cases of women on trial for murder from 1870 to 1958. The fascinating details of these murder trials, documented in court records and embellished newspaper coverage, mirrored the changing public image of women. Although murder was clearly outside the norm for standard female behavior, most women and their attorneys relied on gendered stereotypes and language to create their defense and sometimes to leverage their status in a patriarchal system. Those who could successfully dress and act the part of the victim were most often able to win the sympathies of the jury. Gender mattered. And though the norms shifted over time, the press, attorneys, and juries were all informed by contemporary gender stereotypes.

Author: Gordon Morris Bakken, Brenda Farrington
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 10/01/2009
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 8.78h x 5.62w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780803213616

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 10/30/2009 pg. 20
Choice 08/01/2010

About the Author
Gordon Morris Bakken is a professor of history at California State University, Fullerton. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Practicing Law in Frontier California (Nebraska 2006) and Mining Law of 1872: Past, Politics, and Prospects. Brenda Farrington is a lecturer in the history department at Chapman University. She has coauthored or coedited several books with Gordon Morris Bakken, including Law in the West and Encyclopedia of Women in the American West.