Always a mother first: the resilience of the ‘mother frame’ in the media’s representation of Kathleen Folbigg

Maternal crimes against children have been, and continue to be, the subject of fascination, fear and disbelief. This article critically examines the role of the media and the law in reflecting and reinforcing normative expectations of femininity and motherhood by interrogating the media reporting on Kathleen Folbigg’s case from 2001–2023. Existing theoretical accounts of the conceptualisation of female deviance, as well as the ways the media and legal systems intersect and influence one another to create dual sites where gender inequality is reproduced, are first examined. Against this background, the news reporting over the more than twenty-year span of Kathleen Folbigg’s case, from her trial in 2003 through to the aftermath of her pardon in 2023, serves as a case study to consider whether any changes in the operation of dominant norms can be identified. This article critically examines the use of the ‘mother frame’ as a persuasive narrative frame that, despite changing legal outcomes, remains firmly in place. While Folbigg was able to be repositioned within this frame, even positive media coverage acted to reinforce the gendered norms and expectations attached to female defendants.