Research article    |    Open Access
International Journal of Language and Education Research 2026, Vol. 8(1) 138-161

Her Pain, Our Entertainment: Cultural Obsession With Female Trauma

Safaa El kaleh

pp. 138 - 161

Publish Date: April 30, 2026  |   Single/Total View: 0/0   |   Single/Total Download: 0/0


Abstract

This study examines society’s fascination with women’s suffering, exploring how it is aestheticized, commodified, and circulated in literature, art, and media. Drawing on Laura Mulvey’s male gaze, Judith Butler’s gender performativity, and Bell Hooks’s critique of marginalization, the study uses qualitative analysis of canonical texts (e.g., Sylvia Plath, Frida Kahlo, Ernest Hemingway) and contemporary media to trace patterns in the representation of female trauma. Findings show that female anguish gains attention mainly when stylized and monetized, whereas male suffering commands symbolic authority. This reveals that cultural scripts reinforce gendered hierarchies in the circulation of pain. The study underscores the need to reframe trauma as political rather than consumable, questioning how aestheticized narratives maintain social and economic power structures.

Keywords: aestheticization, bell hooks, commodification, female suffering, gender norms, male gaze, trauma


How to Cite this Article?

APA 7th edition
kaleh, S.E. (2026). Her Pain, Our Entertainment: Cultural Obsession With Female Trauma. International Journal of Language and Education Research, 8(1), 138-161.

Harvard
kaleh, S. (2026). Her Pain, Our Entertainment: Cultural Obsession With Female Trauma. International Journal of Language and Education Research, 8(1), pp. 138-161.

Chicago 16th edition
kaleh, Safaa El (2026). "Her Pain, Our Entertainment: Cultural Obsession With Female Trauma". International Journal of Language and Education Research 8 (1):138-161.

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