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Sex, scandal and punishing bad girls
Casey Anthony’s mugshot, 2011, public domain.
It is very possible that Casey Anthony killed her daughter.
Before we say anything else, we should say that: the fury that was unleashed over Anthony’s July 5 acquittal is based on some very understandable outrage. Anthony did not report that her two-year-old daughter Caylee had gone missing for 31 days; she lied to the police on numerous occasions, including one occasion on which she told them that a non-existent nanny had stolen the girl; the girl was found dead by the road, and several people said they’d smelled a decomposing body in Anthony’s car. Even after the verdict, no-one really believes Anthony was uninvolved in her daughter’s death. So quite a lot of people hate her, both for what they believe she did, and for the perceived lack of punishment she faces now. And, in the absence of a guilty verdict, America has turned to what it considers a suitable punishment for Casey Anthony: Porn.
Vivid Entertainment was the first to make an offer; they wanted Anthony to star in one of their films, with Steve Hirsch telling the press that “we believe we can help [Anthony] make the transition into a new life.” They later rescinded the offer. Now, Larry Flynt is taking up the cause, telling Nancy Grace that he’s prepared to pay $500,000 to get the Hustler spread of Anthony that “droves of men” have apparently requested. Hugh Hefner says he’s also received an “amazing” number of requests to feature her in Playboy.
Of course, offering Casey Anthony a job is an easy way for porn companies to get coverage, and it’s tempting to stop there. “The more you write about people offering Casey Anthony money to do porn, the more you encourage them to pull such crap stunts again,” Fleshbot editor Lux Alptraum Tweeted.
Alptraum is very smart about the dynamics of the sex industry, and I’ve no doubt that she’s correct. Still, despite the hazards, I think it’s worthwhile to explore why this is happening. Because, the fact is, from the moment her trial started, Casey Anthony’s sexuality has been a public good. And this has revealed some very ugly truths about women, about sex, and about the role sex still plays in the cultural imagination. When we, the people hate a woman, we want more than anything to see her get f****ed.
Anthony’s sexuality has always been at the center of her trial. The prosecution called her a “party girl” who killed her daughter so that she could be freely promiscuous, and the press ran with that, reproducing whatever provocative photos of Anthony they could find. Just try to form a logical connection between these two sentences:
Casey is charged with murdering her toddler daughter Caylee and the Orlando case has made national headlines for months. Now, these new photos show her out of control, the shocking life-of-the-party, engaging in some passionate kissing with a girlfriend.
There is none.
The photos in question are not relevant to the case. They were taken well before Caylee’s death. Casey Anthony may have killed her daughter, Casey Anthony made out with a girl at a party–there is no connection between the two ideas. Unless, that is, you buy the idea that being sexual — impermissibly, “shocking”-ly sexual! In public! With a girl, even! — makes you a monster. Or the idea that, for a woman, enjoying sex is a moral offense that can be fitted onto the same scale of human evil as murdering a toddler. If you buy that, the connection is perfectly clear.
Plenty of people roll their eyes at terms like “slut-shaming” or “sex-positive,” and that includes some feminists. But the fact is that, culturally, we maintain a virulent hatred of sex that does not follow the standard rules. You can see it in the legally supported oppression of GLBT people. You can see it in the hateful and borderline-violent reaction to women who speak too freely about their own sex lives. You can see it every time a woman presses rape charges, as both the press and the defense scramble to find some way to paint her as “promiscuous.” And you can see it when women are the ones who stand accused of crimes.
No-one wants to defend Casey Anthony, no-one can defend what she may have done to her daughter. But it’s profoundly dangerous to ignore the implication that her “out of control” sexuality contributed to her capacity for murder or abuse. When we argue that women murder because they’re “promiscuous,” we’re also arguing that promiscuous women are more likely to murder. And when we act as if a woman’s “sluttiness” is evidence that she is a criminal, we legitimize all of the hatred and violence against “slutty” women who have committed no other crime.
And yet, even as we use Casey Anthony’s sexuality as evidence against her character, we want to lay claim to it. Those provocative photos of Anthony weren’t just printed to feed into the public’s hatred; they were printed so that the public could get off on them. For the same reasons, blogs publish pantiless “upskirt” photos of loathed female celebrities, Vivid has pursued “Octo-Mom” Nadia Suleman relentlessly, former sex blogger Lena Chen’s ex posted naked photos of her online without permission, and Hustler made a porn film based on Sarah Palin’s career. When we find ourselves a bad girl, a nasty girl, a girl we hate, there is one surefire way to re-assert control over her: Strip her down and make her get us off. Take her sexuality away from her — it’s dangerous — and make it serve us instead.
This isn’t an anti-pornography argument. Pornography is just explicit, unsimulated sexual imagery; that can be made under good or exploitative conditions, and with any sort of ethics or politics. But, though feminists have cried out for decades that sex need not be a means of domination, it continues to be used as a means of punishment and humiliation for women who have stepped out of line. The attempts of Vivid and Flynt to get Casey Anthony naked on-camera — and the “droves of men” apparently asking them to do so — are just one expression of this fact.
It’s understandable that people hate Casey Anthony. But when people start to use sex as a means of expressing that hatred, that is where the question of Casey Anthony’s guilt stops, and the question of their guilt begins.
Read more here.
More Casey Anthony related stories: -
reuters.com
August 2nd, 2011 02:42 PM EDT
ORLANDO, Fla Anthony, 25, was ordered to report to a probation office this week on orders of Judge Stan Strickland for check fraud charges she admitted to in 2010. The judge said he meant for Anthony to serve a year of probation after her release from jail on the murder charge, rather than during her incarceration. In an emergency motion filed on Tuesday, defense attorney Cheney Mason said Strickland had stated in court at the time of Anthony’s check fraud plea that she would serve probation …
huffingtonpost.com
August 2nd, 2011 12:18 PM EDT
ORLANDO, Fla. A newspaper is asking a Florida judge to make public most of the sealed documents from the trial of Casey Anthony, who left jail last month after being acquitted of a murder charge in the death of her 2-year-old daughter. The Orlando Sentinel filed a request Tuesday for all sealed documents except the jurors’ list. It said documents sought include a list of how defense attorneys spent about $200,000 before Anthony was declared indigent and taxpayers then footed her legal bills. …
cbsnews.com
August 2nd, 2011 09:40 AM EDT
Casey Anthony, left, with her lawyer Jose Baez, after she was released from the Orange County Jail in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday, July 17, 2011. Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, personal photos Anthony was ordered Monday by Judge Stan Strickland to return to Orange County within 72 hours to serve probation for a check fraud charge that she pleaded guilty to last year, CBS affiliate WKMG Judge Strickland had recused himself from Anthony’s recent murder trial. Mason said he is concerned for …
mediabistro.com
August 2nd, 2011 09:10 AM EDT
It was a big month for HLN. Intense interest in the Casey Anthony trial led the network to significant increases across the board when compared to last July: in total day, a +146% increase in total viewers and an +84% increase in the A25-54 demographic, and in primetime, a +120% increase in total viewers and a +102% increase in the demographic. In fact, HLN topped both MSNBC and CNN in both total and demo viewers in July, placing only behind Fox News Channel in both primetime and total day. …
cnews.canoe.ca
August 2nd, 2011 03:50 AM EDT
It is not known whether Anthony will be required to report for probation in Orlando, but the supervision will begin this week. “The judge has sent a corrected order. She will be on probation after all, “said Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jo Ellyn Rackleff. “We haven’t determined exactly when or where, but it will be within 72 hours.” Anthony, 25, was released from jail in Orlando last month without any restrictions placed on her freedom after her acquittal on a murder charge …
freep.com
August 1st, 2011 08:56 PM EDT
ORLANDO Casey Anthony, whose whereabouts have been a secret since her dramatic murder acquittal last month, may have to report to a probation officer in central Florida this week under a judge’s order Monday in another case against her. Her attorneys are likely to challenge the revised order. One of them, Cheney Mason, didn’t immediately return a phone call for comment, and another attorney, Jose Baez, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail. Circuit Judge Stan Strickland inserted the words …
current.com
August 1st, 2011 08:35 PM EDT
A Florida judge on Monday signed amended court documents mandating that Casey Anthony return to Orlando to serve a year of probation stemming from her check fraud conviction. “From my reading of this, she should be reporting to probation in Orlando probably within 72 hours,” Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland said in signing the documents, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The action came after an apparent misunderstanding in the case. Anthony pleaded guilty in January 2010 to …
sltrib.com
August 1st, 2011 05:10 PM EDT
Casey Anthony to serve probation in check fraud case By Anthony Colarossi The Orlando Sentinal Published Aug 1, 2011 07:10PM MDT Orlando, Fla. Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland signed amended court documents Monday that he says will have the effect of requiring Casey Anthony to serve one year of supervised probation as he originally intended back when he sentenced her in her check fraud case. From my reading of this, she should be reporting to probation in Orlando probably …
abcnews.go.com
August 1st, 2011 11:36 AM EDT
Debt Crisis: Heartland Has Advice for Congress Debt Crisis: Heartland Has Advice for Congress People of Fort Wayne, Ind., offer candid words for Washington politicians. Celina Cass’ Body Found in New Hampshire Celina Cass’ Body Found in New Hampshire Police confirm body found in Connecticut River is the missing 11-year-old. Houston Man Claims Racism at Gated Community Houston Man Claims Racism at Gated Community David Williams says guests were denied entry because of their race. Painting Solves …
news.gather.com
August 1st, 2011 10:30 AM EDT
Gather person recommends this Casey Anthony will not be sitting down for a chat with any of the large networks anytime soon. According to sources close to Anthony, she will be pursuing assistance for critical mental health issues instead. There is no question that Anthony’s behavior was consistently disturbing and even puzzling, both prior to and during her infamous murder trial. There was never a hint however, that Anthony herself suspected that her behavior was way beyond the scope of typical …
thedailybeast.com
August 1st, 2011 10:05 AM EDT
Where in the world is Casey Anthony? Rumors have buzzed that she’s been everywhere from California to the Bahamas, after being acquitted of murdering her daughter, Caylee, and released from jail July 17. But Monday morning, an Orange County judge ruled that Anthony must return to Florida to serve one year of supervised probation for” of all things” forgery charges. Last year, he sentenced her for stealing a friend’s checkbook and forging checks under the friend’s name. “She should be …
olympics.thestar.com
August 1st, 2011 10:05 AM EDT
Judge orders Casey Anthony serve probation in Florida Mike Schneider The Orlando judge who sentenced Anthony last year for fraudulent check writing signed a corrected version of Anthonys probation order that made clear she was supposed to start the one-year term after her release from jail, not while she was detained waiting for her murder trial. Her attorneys are likely to challenge the revised order. One of them, Cheney Mason, didnt immediately return a phone call …
cbsnews.com
August 1st, 2011 09:02 AM EDT
Casey Anthony, left, walks to a SUV with her lawyer Jose Baez after she was released from the Orange County Jail in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday, July 17, 2011. Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, personal photos Judge Stan Strickland, who recused himself before Anthony went to trial on murder charges, has issued an order that she serve probation for a check fraud charge. At the time, Strickland sentenced Anthony to a one year of probation, reports CBS affiliate WKMG Strickland signed the …
perezhilton.com
August 1st, 2011 08:15 AM EDT
Come out, come out, wherever you are! By order of the courts! When Casey Anthony was released from criminal custody earlier this month, she immediately went into hiding. No one has seen nor heard form her since July 15th, when she strode out of the courthouse in the early morning, hoping to avoid a big crowd and scene. However, Orange County Judge Stan Strickland signed amended court documents this morning requiring Casey to return to Orlando within the next 3 days. Upon arriving back to the …
huffingtonpost.com
August 1st, 2011 08:01 AM EDT
“I have never spoken or communicated with Hustler magazine in any way shape or form, “Baez said in an exclusive statement to HuffPost Crime. Last week, Flynt said he had offered Anthony$ 500,000 to pose naked for his magazine. The porn mogul made the announcement on HLN’s “Nancy Grace ” show “We made an offer of a half-a-million dollars, but she would receive 10 percent of[ any additional profits] and the reason why I did that is I’m still ambivalent as to how well this will do, “Flynt said. …
upi.com
August 1st, 2011 08:11 AM EDT
“I suspect she’s going to be required to report to probation.” Correction Department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger told the Orlando Sentinel: “We ‘re in contact with Casey’s Anthony’s attorneys to set up her first report visit.” Anthony, 25, walked out of the Orange County Jail July 17 with no restrictions after being acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Strickland said Thursday he intended for Anthony to get supervised probation if freed in the murder case. But prison officials …
tmz.com
August 1st, 2011 07:00 AM EDT
Casey Anthony’s Parents TROPICAL VACATION WHAT’S THE PORPOISE? Just 4 days after Casey Anthony was released from jail her parents were kickin’ it in the Bahamas and went swimming with dolphins and for once, there’s hard evidence to back up the story. George and Cindy Anthony went swimming at Dolphin Cay at the Atlantis resort on July 21 and spent all sorts of quality time smiling and making kissy faces with a dolphin named Hercules. As for Casey we’re told she was not part of the tropical …
palmbeachpost.com
August 1st, 2011 06:01 AM EDT
Orlando Sentinel Updated: 5:47 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1, 2011 Posted: 10:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 1, 2011 Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland just signed amended court documents this morning that he says will have the effect of requiring Casey Anthony to serve one year of supervised probation as he originally intended back when he sentenced her in her check fraud case. “From my reading of this, she should be reporting to probation in Orlando probably within 72 hours, “Strickland said. “I suspect she’s …
sheknows.com
July 31st, 2011 10:58 PM EDT
Casey Anthony has been talking about securing a highly paid network interview recently, but the latest news it that Anthony won’t be talking to anyone other than a professional counselor. Casey Anthony may be receiving $500K offers from Hustler, but the recently released media circus magnet is going to be too busy for anything. TMZ reports that Anthony will seek treatment for her serious emotional issues instead of selling interviews…at least for now. According to the celebrity news …
perezhilton.com
July 30th, 2011 11:02 AM EDT
Thank GOD! Casey Anthony will not be doing any interviews with any network. For now, at least. Casey instead will be seeking professional treatment for serious mental issues. Sources say that Casey finally realizes that her behavior was both questionable and bizarre when her daughter Caylee went missing in 2008. Three main reasons for the professional help will be for her “obvious mental issues, “coping with the “obvious trauma of losing her child, “and the the fact that spending nearly three …
palmbeachpost.com
July 30th, 2011 08:42 AM EDT
Orlando Sentinel That brings the estimated investigative and prosecution costs attributed to the case to more than half a million dollars. It also brings the documented cost in public dollars spent on the Casey Anthony case overall to more than$ 822,470. The Sheriff’s Office, the lead investigating agency in the case, announced Friday it is seeking reimbursement of$ 293,123.77 for its role in looking into the disappearance of Caylee Marie Anthony in mid-July 2008, according to just-released …
news.gather.com
July 30th, 2011 08:10 AM EDT
people recommend this Casey Anthony is being as elusive as she can, seeing as though her life is definitely in danger. She was found not guilty of the 2008 murder of her young daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony. Most of the nation is quite upset by this and that is why she’s being kept hidden from public view. People are still making death threats about Tot Mom. Well rumors on her whereabouts may be put to rest because it appears that Casey Anthony is going to be on probation, which will most …
upi.com
July 30th, 2011 07:50 AM EDT
Casey Anthony walks out of the the Orange County Jail with her attorney Jose Baez after being released at 12:08 am July 17, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. Anthony was acquitted in the death of her daughter, Caylee. UPI/Red Huber/Pool LOS ANGELES, July 30( UPI) Sources close to Casey Anthony told TMZ.com she is seeking mental health treatment and won’t be doing any interviews on U.S. television in the near future. Anthony has been in hiding since her release from a Florida jail after her acquittal on …
jezebel.com
July 30th, 2011 07:05 AM EDT
It seems the bidding wars for Casey Anthony’s story have come to a temporary end. According to TMZ, Casey Anthony will not be giving her story to anyone right now and will instead seek professional help for “serious mental health issues.” First, Casey now realizes that her questionable behavior when her daughter Caylee went missing back in 2008 stemmed from “obvious mental health issues.” The second reason Casey still needs help coping with the “obvious trauma of losing her child.” Third, …
celebs.gather.com
July 30th, 2011 06:25 AM EDT
They have denied that they considered having an interview with her in the past or anyone associated with her. Casey is the young woman who was on trial for the murder of her daughter, Caylee, recently. The little girl’s body was found in a garbage bag in December of that same year. She was not yet three years old when she went missing in June of 2008. NBC further states that no compensation whatsoever, including money, licensing, etc. will be or has been offered to Anthony. However, they do go …
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