Amanda Knox vs. Jodie Arias [View all]

There seems to be an argument floating around that sympathy for Amanda Knox only exists because she's an attractive white woman. If this were anyone else, the argument goes, no such sympathy would exist. What's being made here is a claim on how we view white women in American society.

Is such a claim correct?

Probably not. I think it is true that public perception of crime is different for a white woman when compared to a black woman. That's not a terribly controversial statement. The question remains, however, exactly what this means in terms of a white woman being tried for an egregious crime.

To those claiming Knox is gaining sympathy because she is an attractive white woman, I counter with Jodie Arias, an attractive white woman. Arias has fallen into popular vernacular as a sociopathic femme fatale. The dominant rhetoric surrounding Arias could pretty easily be interpreted as slut shaming, regardless of her apparent guilt.

Not surprisingly, it seems much of the "case" against Knox in Italy revolves similarly around the animalization and pathologizing of female sexuality, with the claims of outlandish sexual ritual being the reason why Knox committed murder according to the police.