Re: Unwilling Avatars, by Mary Anne Franks
Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:25 pm
Unwilling Avatars, by Mary Anne Frank wrote:Nicole Catsouras was eighteen years old when she died in a horrific car accident. On October 31, 2006, she and her father had an argument, and he confiscated the car keys as punishment. Later that day, Nicole snuck out, taking the car keys with her. Fifteen minutes later, she crashed into a freeway tollbooth at a speed of over 100 miles per hour. The collision mangled her body, nearly decapitating her. The police photographs of the accident were leaked and published online. The gruesome images began to appear in chat rooms and fetish websites where users would discuss, among other things, how Nicole “deserved” what happened. A MySpace user posted the pictures along with sexualized commentary about Nicole; another created a fake profile of Nicole that included a close-up of her remains. [FN69] Someone posted the Catsouras' home address and encouraged others to harass the family. Nicole's parents received numerous pseudonymous emails and text messages that included the photos, along with vicious captions. They attempted to convince web site owners to take down the pictures, but met with little success: “We've asked them to please take down the pictures, and they've said, ‘No, I don't have to because I've got my First *243 Amendment rights',” says Nicole's mother, Lesli Catsouras. [FN70] Nicole's family uploaded a memorial video of Nicole on YouTube, hoping that it would help show that they “are a family with real hearts, and it hurts what people are doing.” [FN71] A number of vicious and sexist pseudonymous comments were posted on YouTube in response, including the following: “she got what she deserved ... you wanted equality, fine, fuck that stupid cunt ... hahahaha, she got what she deserved ....” [FN72]