Missing White Woman Syndrome

-Aiden Abadilla, Ruhee Rajwani,

Fiona Clayton, and Manoo Zaheer
Some Numbers…

One in Five People in the United States is a Woman of Color

Missing White Woman Syndrome
Definition: Missing white woman syndrome is a term which is used by social scientists and
media commentators in reference to the media coverage, especially on television, of
missing-person cases involving young, attractive, white, upper middle class women or girls
compared to the relative lack of attention towards missing women who were not white, of
lower social classes, or of missing men or boys.

Gwen Ifill: credited with originating the phrase in 2004 at the Unity:
Journalists of Color conference.

- Also described as "white women occupying a privileged "I call it the missing white woman search
role as violent crime victims in news media reporting.” syndrome. If there is a missing white woman
you're going to cover that every day."
 Two Cases: Laci Peterson and Evelyn Hernandez
Laci Peterson
- December 2002: Went missing after after
visiting her sister’s salon from which her
husband picked her up.
- Young pregnant white woman.
- Highly publicized case, made international
headlines with high reward.
- In April, her body was found along the shores of
San Francisco Bay.
- Her killer currently sits on death row at San
Quentin State Prison
Evelyn Hernandez
- Went missing with her son 7 months earlier on May
2002
- 24-year old single mom, 9 months pregnant
- Evelyn had immigrated from El Salvador as a child.
- She became pregnant with her son Alex shortly
after graduating.
- Months later on July 24th, her body was found in
the San Francisco Bay. Alex was never found.
- Hernandez’s killer has not been found.
Overview
● For Laci’s case A $25,000 reward was offered, later increased to $250,000, and
finally to $500,000 for any information leading to Laci's safe return. Posters, blue
and yellow ribbons, and fliers were circulated, and the original, basic version of the
LaciPeterson.com website was launched by the husband of one of her friends.
○ Over 1500 volunteers.

● A report that aired on CNN in 2006 noted the differences in the level of media
coverage given to missing white women (such as Laci Peterson and Natalee
Holloway), when compared to the level of coverage given to LaToyia Figueroa, a
pregnant black Hispanic woman. Figueroa disappeared in Philadelphia in 2005, the
same year Holloway disappeared
Race, Gender, Diaspora, and Health
#MeToo
#MeToo: “a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture”

- Peaked in 2017-2018
- The movement was actually started by women of color
- In reality:
- 0.1187% of White people get raped every year
- 0.173% of Black people get raped every year
- 0.076% of Hispanic People get raped every year
- Women of Color largely ignored in this movement
Lean-In
● Established by Sheryl Sandberg
○ Studied economics at Harvard and got
MBA
○ Chief economist at World Bank
○ Consultant at McKinsey
○ VP at Google
○ Facebook ‘s Chief Operating Officer, Mark
Zuckerberg’s right hand from 2008 to 2022
● Organization hopes to change the conversation
from what women can’t do to what we can do
○ More than 41,000 Lean In circles in 170
countries
● Are her experiences reflective of most women?
What message is she sending?
○ Stay at home moms
○ Women of color
○ Women don’t have a college degree
Discussion:
● Why do white women get more media coverage and sympathy?
● What should white women be doing with their high popularity and
influence?
● Why is working hard not always hard enough? How does this
contradict messages we have been told throughout our lives?
● What parts of our society limit women? Do these limitations to all
women of all races?
● What’s the best way for those who can’t relate with #MeToo to
support it?
References
https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a5143/a-tale-of-two-killings/

https://prezi.com/d3w2lz33zrlr/metoo-a-timeline-of-events/

https://www.statista.com/chart/15675/key-developments-in-the-global-anti-sexual-harassment-moveme
nt/

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/05/1137193397/missing-persons-of-color-news-coverage-disparities

https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-of-color-in-the-united-states/

https://www.census.gov/acs/www/about/why-we-ask-each-question/race/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/sheryl-sandberg-leaving-meta-lean-in-feminism/661
291/
https://leanin.org/#

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8920314/