The Caylee Anthony Debacle

I don’t know about you, but this whole Caylee/Casey Anthony thing has gotten out of control. My first reaction when the whole thing started was of course to turn to the lady on the elliptical next to me and say, "When was the last time you saw anyone make this big a deal out of a missing kid of color?" Elliptical lady was entirely uninterested. Whatever.

But over the course of this case it’s become clearer and clearer to me what matters most in American Media: innocent whiteness and white sexuality. The most incidious aspect of this case (and I recognize the perpetuation of the stereotype I’ve called out by even bringing up this subject at all) is the constant barrage of "racy" photos of the mother Casey Anthony. Casey dancing with a stripper, Casey dancing at all, Casey drinking beer, Casey posing for the camera, etc. As though these pictures somehow prove that if a woman is pretty and has fun, she is clearly A) a bad mother or B) is asking for whatever bad thing happens to her.

Don’t get me wrong–losing (maybe murdering?) your kid is selfish and horrorfying. I have little sympathy for the woman or her case as she’s thwarted any attempt at finding her child. What I see happening on every channel, is the appropriation of her body and her sexuality as proof positive that she’s a sick woman. Not that she lost her kid mind you, but that her body and her looks are PROOF that she is negligent.

As for that poor little girl, iI have to wonder each time I see her picture, how many children of color are missing at that very same moment? Why is Caylee so much more important than all of them? Because her mother is smokin hot, she once danced with a half naked lady, and there are sexy pictures of it to plaster all over TV.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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