Why Women are Angrier Than Men About the Casey Anthony Verdict

Jul 8, 2011
Bob Yirka

Angry Women - biewoef

In the aftermath of the Casey Anthoney verdict, polls indicate women are angrier than men.

A recent article in USA Today online noted that a recent Gallup poll showed that 64% of Americans think Casey Anthony is guilty of killing her daughter, though women are much more likely to be upset about it.

The Poll

The poll found that women were more than twice as likely as men to believe that the recently acquitted Anthony "definitely" murdered her two year old daughter three years ago; 28% versus 11%. It also found that 27% of those women were angry about it, compared to only 9% of men.

What Gives?

Those the newspaper spoke to most often cited it being about a mother's or maternal instincts; something that isn't very scientific, but clearly strikes a chord. The thinking goes that mothers were more affected by the apparent murder, and then were appalled by what they saw as irresponsible, cold-hearted behavior by a mom whose daughter had gone missing. Many of them couldn't get past the concept of a mother not reporting her daughter missing for a whole month.

It appears it was this behavior of Anthony's that caused so many women to believe she was guilty, and then fueled so much anger after she was acquitted. How could a woman so clearly guilty of a truly heinous crime, be set free, they wondered.

After reading through the rhetoric, it becomes clear that the deep down basic issue is the sanctity of the relationship between mothers and their children. Many women consider the bond to be sacred, and when it's abused, they grow angry. Simple as that.

In some ways, the anger over the verdict echoes the anger heard in the discussion about giving gay partners the right to marry. Though instead of it being about the sanctity of the bond between mother and child, it's about the sanctity of marriage, and holding on to what people have been taught to believe is right.

Impact

In the wake of the verdict, USA Today reports that women all over the country are banding together to piece together referendums in their states to enact laws requiring mothers to report their children missing within a very short time. What's not clear however is what good such a law would have done in the Anthony case, when she as a defendant admitted that she knew where her daughter was and thus had no reason to report her missing; she'd drowned and was dead.

In the future, whether laws are passed won't be the issue, what will be is whether other mothers who when faced with the difficulties found in raising a child, come to think of Casey Anthony, and the smile on her face as she walks out of her jail cell, free and smiling.