In a multimediated world, societies are bombarded by endless flows of information, the construction of which becomes central to their understanding and perception of the world around them. Stories of violence and death are absolutely newsworthy, but as this essay will explore, when combined with sex and sexual deviance, they become an even more dangerous and potent media cocktail. In attempting to explain female criminality, the media engages with mainstream, commonsense notions of femininity and masculinity. () Here aggression is seen as a natural and inevitable form of male behavior and therefore considered unfeminine where it is naturally assumed that women are docile, compassionate and kind-hearted. Gender plays a big role in how the media portrays female criminality. Women are believed to have violated not only criminal law but also natural law and where their crimes become gender crimes, they are then judged both socially and legally. () This essay will explore the meaning of gender, through an analysis of journalistic interpretations of high-profile female offenders, namely Myra Hindly, Rosemary West and Maxine Carr, in contrast to their male counterparts, in the UK. The instrumental role of this form of media in sensationalizing these relatively rare forms of crime will be discussed in relation to the choice of tone, language and visual imagery. The competing narratives between "bad", evil and monstrous women, and "crazy" and pathological women will be analyzed in relation to the reinforcement of gender stereotypes. This essay will argue that gender is the lens through which female criminals can be, judged, persecuted, and alienated from women and humanity as a whole. The profound meaning of the genre is... at the center of the sheet... x, M. (1996). Telling stories of women who kill. Social and legal studies. 5 (4), 471-494.Naylor, B. (1990). Media images of women who kill. Legal service bulletin. 15 (1), 4-8. Berrington, E & Honkatukia, P. (2002). An evil monster and a poor thing: female violence in the media. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention. 3 (1), 50-72.Storrs, E. (2004). “Our Scapegoat”: An Exploration of Media Representations of Myra Hindley and Rosemary West. Theology and sexuality. 11 (1), 9-28.Chesney-Lind, M . (1999). Media misogyny: demonizing “violent” girls and women. In: Ferrell, J. and Websdale, N. Cultural constructions of crime, deviance, and control. New York: Aldine. 115-139. Lloyd, A (1995). Doubly deviant, doubly damned: that of society. London: Penguin. 10-15.Jewkes, Y (2011). Media and crime. 2nd ed. London: Sage. 121-144.