Intersectionality, #MeToo, and the Mainstream Media: The New York Times‘ Problematic Framing of the Blasey Ford/Kavanaugh and Reade/Biden Sexual Assault Allegations

Violence Against Women. 2025 Dec 29:10778012251409152. doi: 10.1177/10778012251409152. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This article asks: How did The New York Times’ opinion section frame the sexual assault allegations of Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh compared to Tara Reade’s against Joe Biden? Through a framing analysis, it compares The New York Times’ opinion coverage of Blasey Ford’s allegations in 2018 with Reade’s allegations in 2020, both of which took place in the context of the #MeToo movement. We show that the first case frames sexual violence as a systematic problem and empowers survivors of sexual violence, but nonetheless lacks an intersectional dimension. In contrast, the framing of Reade’s allegation is entirely about Biden’s political prospects, mobilizes sexist frames to dismiss the allegations, and legitimizes a discourse that inhibits future survivors of sexual violence from being heard. We conclude that the comparison suggests The New York Times was more motivated by partisanship than solidarity with the #MeToo movement in its opinion coverage of both cases.

PMID:41460715 | DOI:10.1177/10778012251409152