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ABSTRACT
In 2017, Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why received great pushback for its graphic depiction of Hannah Baker’s suicide. Based on Jay Asher’s novel of the same name, the Netflix series ran for four seasons before ending in Summer 2020. But while much discussion has centered around Hannah’s suicide scene and concerns for audience well-being, the series’ long-running dialogue and inclusion of sexual assault has been overlooked. To address this issue, this research applies critical textual analysis and a feminist lens to all four seasons of 13 Reasons Why, arguing that the series opens a space for dialogue related to “who” victims of sexual assault are, how systems fail sexual assault survivors, and that stories of sexual assault do not all end in death.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Nicole Cox
Nicole Cox, Ph.D. is Interim Department Head and Associate Professor of Mass Media at Valdosta State University. Her research interests include feminist political economy, political economy of media, reality TV, critical/cultural theory, gender studies, and online fandom. Dr. Cox’s work has been published Critical Studies in Media Communication, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Communication, Culture & Critique, the Journal of Popular Culture, and the Journal of Sports Media.