Five Evil Women
Hindley, West, Wuornos, Homolka, Tucker
Joanna BourkeA critical, comparative history of five notorious women branded icons of evil.
Why do certain women become icons of evil? This book offers the first comparative, non-sensationalist account of five of the most reviled women in the modern Anglophone world: Myra Hindley, Rosemary West, Aileen Wuornos, Karla Homolka and Karla Faye Tucker. It examines their lives, crimes and cultural reception in the UK, USA and Canada, asking how violence committed by women is understood, judged and remembered. Going beyond moral outrage or tabloid headlines, the book explores how concepts of 'evil' are shaped by history, belief systems and social context. Through historical and ethical reflections, it offers a deeper, more critical engagement with female violence, and considers how society should respond to those who commit acts of unimaginable harm.
A critical, comparative history of five notorious women branded icons of evil.
Why do certain women become icons of evil? This book offers the first comparative, non-sensationalist account of five of the most reviled women in the modern Anglophone world: Myra Hindley, Rosemary West, Aileen Wuornos, Karla Homolka and Karla Faye Tucker. It examines their lives, crimes and cultural reception in the UK, USA and Canada, asking how violence committed by women is understood, judged and remembered. Going beyond moral outrage or tabloid headlines, the book explores how concepts of 'evil' are shaped by history, belief systems and social context. Through historical and ethical reflections, it offers a deeper, more critical engagement with female violence, and considers how society should respond to those who commit acts of unimaginable harm.
-
'
Another brilliant, thought-provoking book by Joanna Bourke. In her riveting stories about the crimes of five reviled female murderers she analyses responses of experts and the public, and convincingly argues that the concept of the “evil woman” is inappropriate.
'The Rt Hon. Baroness Tessa Blackstone
-
'
This is a remarkably interesting book. It explores, in a clear-headed way, why some women turn to violence and why, in doing so, they are regarded with special disdain. Written with great lucidity by a truly distinguished scholar, Five Evil Women breaks new ground in the study of gender and criminality.
'Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
-
'
This is a probing, compassionate and deeply ethical book exposing society's biases when faced with examples of extreme violence in women. Joanna Bourke untangles how prurience, sensationalism and misogyny entwine to conjure monster myths that leave an enduring impression that evil acts committed by women are far more deviant and horrifying than those of men. She takes us through a series of contemporary ‘evil’ women to reflect on how our starting points of gendered prejudice serves to strengthen the horror and disgust that their names evoke.
'Jude Kelly CBE, founder of The WOW Foundation
Introduction
1 Depraved: Myra Hindley
2 Perverted: Rosemary West
3 Monstrous: Aileen Wuornos
4 Victimized: Karla Homolka
5 Feminized: Karla Faye Tucker
6 Justice and Evil
References
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Index
Joanna Bourke OBE is Professor Emerita of History at Birkbeck, University of London, and a Fellow of the British Academy. She is also Professor Emerita of Rhetoric at Gresham College. Her many books include Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence (Reaktion, 2022).
