Quiet Racism: Examining Gendered Orientalism Within Canadian Newspaper Editorial Coverage of the 2012 New Delhi Gang Rape

Abstract

This study employs Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism and Norman Fairclough’s three-part model of Critical Discourse Analysis in order to analyze The Globe and Mail, The National Post and Toronto Star’s editorial coverage of the New Delhi Gang Rape that occurred on December 16, 2012 in New Delhi, India. Through a conceptual framework using Michel Foucault, Stuart Hall and Edward Said’s seminal work of Orientalism, this paper highlights the key discursive strategies through which residual elements of imperialist ideology shape Canadian editorial discourse about the Delhi Gang Rape. The purpose of this MRP is to give closer attention to the way media represent events like the rape case, and the meanings and these representations have on molding Western views on gender and gender roles in the non-Western World.