Entre a demonização e a romantização: a construção jornalística de Suzane Von Richthofen na Folha de São Paulo e no Correio Braziliense (2002-2006)

Abstract

Throughout history, women have carried the marks of violence on their bodies and souls. They have been stripped of their possessions and independence by patrimonial violence; judged and wounded by moral violence; silenced and oppressed by psychological violence; and so often subjugated by physical violence. Judged for practices such as sexual relations with the devil, witchcraft, cannibalism, and often having their bodies attacked to satisfy male pleasure, women were described as fragile, obedient, and, above all, submissive to the desires of men. Thus, they were forced to fulfill the roles established by the social order - wife, mother, and housewife - and, if they strayed from this path, violence and torture were used as mechanisms of discipline. Women who did not follow these patterns were often labeled as “non-women,” “crazy,” “evil,” “soulless,” and “abnormal.” In the context of criminalization, women historically seen as victims also began to be classified as aggressors, involved in criminal factions, drug trafficking, homicides, and kidnappings. This presence in the world of violence challenges traditional conceptions of gender, which associate crime with masculine attributes. In the media, violent acts committed by women are often interpreted as psychological deviations, exceptions, or anomalies, reinforcing patterns that disregard social complexity. This study is based on the understanding that crimes committed by individuals result from a complex interaction between individual, cultural, social, and political factors - and not exclusively from gender, as suggested by positivist, religious, judicial, and medical discourses of the 20th century. Although originating in another context, these discourses still influence the treatment of women in the 21st century, who continue to be judged more by their gender than by their actions. Given this, with the aim of problematizing the historical construction of characteristics attributed to women who challenge the social order, this dissertation aims to analyze journalistic content from Folha de São Paulo and Correio Braziliense, published between 2002 and 2006, related to the Richthofen Crime and focusing on the image of Suzane von Richthofen. The investigation covers headlines and reports, seeking to understand how these media outlets constructed, reinforced, or strained representations of female criminality. The analysis is based on theories of Women's Social History and gender studies, adopting the Content Analysis methodology. At the end of the investigative journey, it becomes evident that the multiplicity of formats, images, and discourses involving women's participation in criminal episodes reveals more than simple records of the present: it exposes ways of feeling and thinking that reaffirm conservative patterns, but also open space for new perceptions about gender and society. At the intersection of continuities and ruptures, the contemporary emerges fraught with tensions, prompting the reader to reflect on inherited values and social practices that insist on reproducing themselves. It is in this scenario, where the old coexists with the emerging, that this research is situated to analyze constructions and deconstructions of gender, allowing for considerations that are still open to contestation and critical interpretation.