but you didn't answer my question about the hypothetical family (excuse any syntax or grammatical errors as i'm trying to do this while at work)---agreed, "Terri" as you call her exploited her kid. agreed, she grew up relatively normal or even exceptional--so i wouldn't call her scarred or emotionally crippled (seemingly--who are we to know except for the brief insight by McCarthy). Americans are very prudish about their sexuality. the pictures of Shields when she was prepubescent wouldn't raise an eyebrow in most european countries. the more one focuses on it, the more it speaks about the writer's own obscession and awkwardness about sexuality. parents exploit their kids for all kinds of things as i mentioned before --i don't see sexuality being any worse--there's a lot more to it to make a child have an emotional illness than some "Pretty Baby" pictures. what Lohan or Spears or Hilton's family have done (or allowed ) is much more pornographic (to me) than anything the Shield's family has done.