What Amanda Knox Tells Us About Privilege - Slate Magazine (blog)

Casey Greenfield has one of the best assessments of this situation that I've seen so far. She argues that Knox's youth and beauty probably did help her finally walk free, but that her youth and beauty are also the reasons she was railroaded in the first place. This cases touches off one of the more difficult conversations in feminist discourse about looks and privilege. Less conventionally attractive women usually face more obstacles and prejudice, so often one shies away from discussing some of the problems that come with being conventionally attractive, for fear of ringing the "poor little rich girl" bell. With the Knox situation, however, this problem is unavoidable. The reason so many people are eager to believe the implausible prosecution claims that Knox was into Satanic orgies, where sexual pleasure was derived from murder, was that there's a lot of of misogynist hatred for pretty women that goes hand-in-hand with all the privileges being attractive gets you, and this is true in both Italy and the United States. Both cultures are awash in images of beautiful women being put in degrading situations, where the viewer can get some pleasure out of putting the pretty lady in her place. In the United States, at least, women often mention how nice it is to reach the age when men stop harassing you on the streets as much, and I imagine Italian women feel the same. Whether or not being pretty is experienced as a privilege depends on the context. If you're vying for a job or out on the dating market, absolutely. But if you're a rape victim trying to convince a jury that you weren't "asking for it"? Not so much. I have often in my life looked at some crap that a friend is dealing with and been grateful that I'm not as beautiful as she is, which means I don't have to put up with so much guff from men who have issues with beautiful women.