Another Case of Missing White Woman Syndrome

A post by "Dame Judy" To see more posts click here

Yesterday, the body of Morgan Harrington was found in Albemarle County, Virginia. Three months ago, on October 17th, 2009, Morgan went missing after she attended a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. And the media went wild.

The search and media coverage of this missing (now deceased) person is another example of what has come to be known as “Missing White Woman Syndrome (MWWS).” This term is used to describe the excessively bias coverage in television, radio, newspapers and other print media reporting of a missing person or child case. Usually the media prefers to cover a case where the victim is a white female, young, relatively attractive, and middle or upper class. Morgan Harrington is the perfect example. She was a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student, pretty, blond hair, blue eyes, and obviously Caucasian. According to FindMorgan.com there have been concerts, a benefit basketball game, and other fundraising events for their Find Morgan Fund. In November, shortly after her disappearance, over 1,660 volunteers searched about 2, 660 acres hoping to find some clue of what happened. Even Metallica chipped in 50K for the fund. It’s the least they could do for one of their biggest fans.

I know I sound a little sarcastic, and it’s not that I don’t feel bad for the Harrington family or their loved ones. It just that MWWS really pisses me off! Take Nancy Grace, she yells and screams and fights for justice, but all the cases she features are that of white women and children. Not once have I seen an ethnic face in her show, unless it’s a sketch of the suspect. When was the last time a missing person of color was featured on national TV? OK, I can’t think of anyone either. How about a white woman? Yeah, lets count: 1. Chandra Levy, 2. Elizabeth Smart, 3. Laci Peterson, 4. Natalee Holloway, 5. Caylee Anthony ( Nancy Grace’s all time favorite!) and more closer to home, 6. Morgan Harrington. All white, middle to upper class, fairly pretty females. How about missing white men? Let’s not even talk about Black or Latino men! Men are more neglected than females of color. The only time a male might be featured on the media is when they are white, upper to middle class, and handsome. They sure are not about to put Billy Joe Smith from good old Appalachian County on CNN.

I’m sad to hear that Morgan Harrington was found dead. I can’t imagine what her parents and family are going through right now. But I am even more saddened that we allow the media to treat a missing person case like it’s an audition for America’s Next Top Model. Scratch that, more like The Hills.