Audience pushback against victim narratives can enforce individual responsibility ideologies

Evidence

Two of these three posters question and reject Winfrey’s portrayal of Lawal as the ultimate victim. They take moral stances on the case: Amina Lawal broke the stated laws in her country and must face the penalty. “Fb6700” challenges the moral framework offered by Winfrey even further by stating that adultery is a crime and should be punished. Similarly, “sea1982” openly blames Lawal for “her fate.” These judgments, however harsh, are interesting in how they push against the common oppressed Muslim woman portrayal and toward an ideology of individual responsibility. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 787

Categorization

• XREF: Relates to the im/modesty moral-panics thread and how audiences accept or reject framing; also parallels reception-studies literature. — connects to: Beliefs about collective victimization depend on exposure to narratives. — Sandra Penic, Guy Elcheroth, and Dario Spini, When Is Collective Exposure to War…, 17