Paper short abstract:

My research addresses why women engage with stories of true crime. The study focuses on women who consume true crime podcasts. I examine true crime podcasts which are used as a tool for the construction of stories of violence and why this medium might lend itself to such narratives.

Paper long abstract:

Previous academic consideration of true crime narratives have been bounded in disciplines such as criminology, psychology, or media studies. This work has tended to be based on the content of violent crime; detailing the crime scene, murder weapons and police investigations; rather than the corresponding consumption of true crime narratives. My research is unique insofar as it analyses the consumption of true crime podcasts in Australia, specifically the gendered nature of such consumption. My decision to focus on gendered consumption reflects my understanding that violent crime itself is gendered, with the majority of victims of violent sexual crime being women. It is reasonable to consider that women may be expected to have a particular interest in true crime given the gendered experience of violence which they face. Given this, my study focuses exclusively on the women who engage with each other via true crime podcasts and the corresponding digital mediated experience. This research highlights the increasing focus on true crime and its validity within popular culture and academia, giving voice to the women who actively engage with this topic and providing the student researcher and the participants the opportunity to explore both their passion for true crime, and the broad social value of this engagement.