Introduction: Cultural Criminology and the Joy of Transgression

Deviant divas: Lindy Chamberlain and Schapelle Corby and the case for a new category of celebrity for criminally implicated women

“…Penfold-Mounce (2009) was the first to observe a dearth in rigorous academic scholarship on the subject of celebrified criminals, explaining that ‘the process of outlining, engaging with and analyzing the criminal/celebrity relationship remains ripe for a critical dialogue’ (Penfold-Mounce, 2009: 7–8). She begins that critical dialogue by narrowing her focus on ‘notorious’ celebrity or celebrated-criminality and its four sub-categories: the ‘social bandit’ whose law-breaking is intended to liberate the oppressed; the romanticised ‘criminal hero’ motivated by greed; the ‘underworld exhibitionist’ with their self-constructed life of mobbish, criminal behavior; and the ‘iniquitous criminal’ whose horrific crimes offend public decency and inspire loathing and hatred (Penfold-Mounce, 2009: 82–93).…”

“…Penfold-Mounce (2009) was the first to observe a dearth in rigorous academic scholarship on the subject of celebrified criminals, explaining that ‘the process of outlining, engaging with and analyzing the criminal/celebrity relationship remains ripe for a critical dialogue’ (Penfold-Mounce, 2009: 7–8). She begins that critical dialogue by narrowing her focus on ‘notorious’ celebrity or celebrated-criminality and its four sub-categories: the ‘social bandit’ whose law-breaking is intended to liberate the oppressed; the romanticised ‘criminal hero’ motivated by greed; the ‘underworld exhibitionist’ with their self-constructed life of mobbish, criminal behavior; and the ‘iniquitous criminal’ whose horrific crimes offend public decency and inspire loathing and hatred (Penfold-Mounce, 2009: 82–93). The iniquitous criminal has the most relevance for this study, as the celebrity figure encapsulates both the morally offensive and incredulous crimes for which Chamberlain and Corby were charged: incredulous by community standards, that is, because infanticide is a crime so monstrous as to render the offender the ‘ultimate maternal delinquent’ (Douglas and Michaels, 2004 in Barnett, 2016: 3), while Corby’s crime of smuggling marijuana into Bali – a reputed global narcotics distribution centre because of its centrality to the Asia Pacific market (Bonella, 2012) – seemed inconceivable.…”

“…Yet, despite briefly acknowledging the othering of criminal women and the sex-role stereotypes against which their transgressions are judged, Penfold-Mounce homogenises the phenomenon of criminal celebrity as a ‘generic group of people who commit criminal and deviant acts’ (2009: 92), and into the broad category of ‘iniquitous criminal’ she includes, for instance, the 1960s British Moors murderess Myra Hindley and American serial killer Ted Bundy (pp. 90–91).…”

Celebrating Kate: The Criminal-Celebrity of Sydney Underworld Figure, Kate Leigh

“…20 Crime has thus been used for entertainment and consumption, and a discourse of "celebrity" has created celebrated criminality on a scale not seen before. 21 Celebrated criminality is framed within cultural criminology and an understanding that "cultural dynamics carry within them the meaning of crime". 22 The culture of everyday life is important for the ways in which crime, as a product of social relations, is determined against a dominant morality.…”

A criminal mind? A damaged brain? Narratives of criminality and culpability in the celebrated case of Aaron Hernandez

“…Given his celebrity status and the shocking details of the murder cases, Hernandez became the subject of intense media scrutiny and public commentary. This interest reflects a particular form of “celebrated criminality,” which Ruth Penfold-Mounce (2009: 8) has coined to explain relationships between the “cultural product of celebrity” and “the transgressive behavior of crime and deviance.” Following her suggestion to use case studies to unpack these dynamics, this analysis examines how the media coverage of events explained Hernandez’s violent acts, revealing two distinct narratives. On one hand, writers cite Hernandez’s reputation as a player with a penchant for finding trouble off the field, linking his violent acts to perceived “character issues,” histories of drug use, and a cast of objectionable associates from his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut.…”