Gabby Petito’s Murder Exposed “Missing White Woman Syndrome” | The missing that we do not talk about in the United States

The case of Gabby Petito, the young American influencer assassinated, unmasked “The syndrome of the missing white woman”. to the case and in the interests of the authorities themselves to resolve it, when the disappearance of hundreds of young people of color, African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians does not result in the same treatment.

Missing white woman syndrome is a term used to denote the disproportionate media coverage – especially on television – of missing middle-class white women or girls in relation to the relative inattention to missing minority women and missing men or children, all from the lower class.

Some experts claim that the oversized relevance of Petito’s case is due, in large part, to the fact that the young woman had become YouTuber and had a strong social media presence. The trip she made with her partner has been documented by herself on the networks and the images are plentiful.

El caso encabezó titulares en todo el país e incluso en medios internacionales, especialmente tras ser hallado su cuerpo en parque nacional in Wyoming, a caso that continúa abierto, dado que las autoridades buscan intensamente a su novio, quien fue la última persona que estuvo with her.

The alert revolves around the fact that disappearances of people from ethnic minorities do not arouse the same media interest, although they are more frequent. In the state of Wyoming alone, where Gabrielle Petito’s remains were found, 710 Native Americans were reported missing between 2011 and 2020, according to a report from Wyoming State University. 57 percent of these cases were women and 85 percent were minors.

In contrast, from June 1 of this year to today, 63 black youths aged 25 and under have been missing and 27 Latinos in the same age group, according to the NameUs database.

“White victims tend to be described as being in very safe environments.”

Danielle Slakoff, assistant professor at California State University, Sacramento – a criminal justice and media researcher, told the New York Times that their investigations found that missing white women and girls are receiving more initial and repeated coverage and which are often portrayed as good people, while women of color are often portrayed as complicit in their own disappearances, taking unnecessary risks.

“White victims tend to be portrayed as being in very safe environments, so it’s shocking that something like this can happen, while black and Latino victims are portrayed in dangerous environments, which basically normalizes victimization. . “, he detailed.

Likewise, Michelle Jeanis, assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, told the Washington Post: “White, attractive, young and seemingly ‘innocent’ victims are getting more media attention.

But despite that reality, Jeanis told the Post that she noticed that this time, at least, the conversation about racial disparities in disappearance cases was making its way to the press.

“I see a big difference. Whenever a prominent white woman goes missing, I get phone calls first about the case and then about the disparity, ”Jeanis said, adding: “This time it’s different; people want to talk about the disparity. “

From the focus of the Petito case, the reflection of disappearances of people of color, who can directly influence the resolution of their cases, is gaining momentum. This time around, with the hashtag #GabbyPetito, many are also posting the names of missing people of color.

The double rod

There are many examples of how “missing white woman syndrome” works. Tiffany fosterA 35-year-old mother of three, she was not seen again after leaving her apartment in Newnan, Georgia, in March. According to her daughter, the woman was on her way to the supermarket, but it is not known if she reached her destination.

Her car was found a few miles away in College Park with her purse and keys, but without her cell phone. At the moment, there are no direct suspects in the case, although his partner has been arrested for stealing his car after his disappearance. Foster’s sister, Kimberly Bryant, has publicly complained that not enough is being done to find her and that the FBI has not been involved, as in the case of Petito.

On the other hand, David Robinson II is a veteran who was looking for his 24 year old son, Daniel, During three months. The young man was last seen leaving his workplace in Buckeye, Ariz., In his blue-gray Jeep Renegade. A local farmer found the vehicle in a ravine about two months ago, but the matter has since been settled.

Buckeye Police have used ATVs to navigate hard-to-reach areas, drones and dogs, but David says those efforts weren’t serious. He claims to have carried out his own search operations with more than 200 non-stop volunteers for seven weeks. The family has also created a fundraising campaign and a petition to support their efforts, but David fears precious time has been lost.

The huge interest in Gabby Petito’s disappearance left her with mixed feelings. “That this became news across the country, that the FBI and other agencies are working on the case, that’s all I wanted for my son,” he said.

Another example is Lauren Cho, a 30-year-old soprano singer in her teens, who later became a music teacher. In search of a fresh start, he quit his job for the winter and took a road trip across the country.

On June 28, when he left the bus where he was staying, he did not bring a phone, food or water. Search and rescue operations found no trace of her. The Petito case sparked new interest in Cho’s disappearance.

On a Facebook page titled ‘Find Lauren Cho’, its directors wrote: “We realize that in principle the public information on the two cases has some similarities. In the end, these two cases are NOT the same and the differences are deeper than they appear at first glance. “

Another similar case occurred in recent days, when the body of an African-American student from Illinois was found by police after being reported missing for a month and following the family’s accusation according to which the authorities did not take her case as seriously as that of Gabby Petito.

Jelani dayThe 25-year-old, a first-semester graduate student at Illinois State University (ISU), had been missing since August 24, after being last seen at ISU and in a Bloomington store.

His body was found floating in the Illinois River on September 4, one mile from where his car was found, but it took police nearly three weeks to identify it, he said. reported. WGLT news.