Gabby Petito’s name has been in the headlines every week since her disappearance back in September.
With no disrespect meant to Petito and her family, I can’t help but wonder: why did her disappearance and death capture so much national attention? Yes, Petito had an Instagram and a YouTube channel that were popular, but not that popular. I had never heard of her before the disappearance, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’m not saying her death doesn’t deserve to be looked into, but what sets her apart from every other missing person in this country?
Young, white women have a history of exploding into the headlines when they go missing. The phenomenon has a name — Missing white woman syndrome. Pretty young white women get tons of media coverage, while people of other genders or races do not. This obviously has negative repercussions — for every case of a white woman’s disappearance, there are many more not getting the same level of attention.
I’m not the only one frustrated by this disparity. Amongst the #FindGabby posts, there are #FindJelaniDay posts and #FindLaurenCho posts. Jelani Day was an Illinois State University graduate student who reported missing on Aug. 25, and his body was discovered and identified in September. Lauren Cho was a high school music teacher in New Jersey before she went on a cross-country road trip to California. Her body was found on Oct. 8.
Social media has been a large aspect of all three cases: TikToks have been promoting and investigating each case. While this means that each case has received focus, it also highlights a harsh reality: the internet has become a place where people beg for attention to save their lives or the lives of others.
Why should internet crusaders have to lobby to solve missing persons cases? Why should people of color have to rely on hashtags to have their cases looked into?
Petito’s family is fortunately also aware of this issue. On Sept. 28, the family announced a foundation in Petito’s name which will help families of other missing people.
“Social media was amazing and very influential, but…it should continue for other people, too,” said Petito’s father, Joseph Petito. “It’s not just Gabby who deserves (help),” he continued.
Issues of bias like missing white woman syndrome run deep in our society. It’s obviously not fair that a person of color needs a social media presence and a hashtag to be found. While social media can help put pressure on authorities to act on a case, it is truly sad that this needs to happen.
There are probably more cases of disappearance that weren’t covered in this article because they haven’t appeared in the news. We can only hope that the cases of Day and Cho are resolved with the same justice and attention Petito is receiving.
Categories: Opinion
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