600,000+. That’s how many people on average go missing each year in the U.S. alone. Perhaps the most recent and prominent of these missing person cases is Gabby Petito’s. Gabby´s case has been plastered across the media for the past few weeks and has garnered the support of thousands of people. But the question is why? Why has her case received so much media coverage when so many other cases are ignored? 

The answer is ¨Missing White Woman Syndrome.¨ This refers to the disproportionate media coverage in television when dealing with young, upper-middle-class, white women in comparison to their non-white or male counterparts when they go missing.  Now, this article has nothing to do with Gabby but it has everything to do with her specific case being widely broadcasted across America in comparison to the many other cases like hers that have been left cold and in the dark. Gabby Petito´s case is not unlike many others, and while Gabby Petito does deserve justice, her case should not be an anomaly in the amount of attention it has received. There are thousands of girls, and women of color, and men, and boys in general with similar missing person cases to hers. However, the media attention surrounding their cases pales in comparison.

 Extensive media coverage is not expected or possible for every missing person’s case. Yet, there needs to be a more equal distribution of media coverage for every missing person, not solely white women. This disproportionate media coverage is not only apparent in missing person cases but also in many other criminal cases involving Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous people. And when a person of color’s case (whether it be a missing person case, a shooting, or a murder) does get sizable media coverage, it’s because there is either camera footage of the incident or the family of the affected fight for justice so that law enforcement and the media acknowledge it.  

While this country has made many beneficial steps in helping solve the problem of racism, the advancements are nowhere near where we as a society need them to be. We need to be at the point where color, nationality, or ethnicity don´t affect whether a case or political issue gains media coverage or not.

Sources:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/240401/number-of-missing-person-files-in-the-us-since-1990/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/us/missing-girls-women-black-latina-indigenous.html