Clickbait crime in the Sunshine State A feminist political economic analysis of the Florida Man and Florida Woman phenomena
By Kaylin Lane and Jennifer M. Proffitt | The Florida Man and Florida Woman phenomena were created by U.S. news outlets reporting on shocking and unusual events committed by people in Florida and has proliferated over time. Yet, these news stories stereotype men and women, poke fun at serious crimes and acts, and bring attention to trivial events through clickbait titles in exchange for profit. Using textual analysis as a method, we use a feminist political economy lens to investigate news coverage of the Florida Man and Florida Woman to explain how news outlets are capitalizing on the Florida Man and Florida Woman to attract readers, while perpetuating stereotypical, problematic news coverage in the process.