Nov. 18, 2008 The Lure and Peril of 'Missing White Girl' Syndrome
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Caylee Anthony is the latest in a long list of celebrity victims, or should I say, victims who become celebrities. You know their names by now: Polly Klaas, JonBenet Ramsey, Elizabeth Smart, Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, Natalee Holloway, and now Caylee Anthony. These victims, who were either kidnapped or murdered or both, have several things in common:
* They are white.
* They are female.
* They are young.
* They are either cute or attractive.
* They are middle class or upper-middle class.
* They are the center of a mystery: either "where is she" or "who killed her."
* They have advocates who are capable of keeping their names in the news.
* They have a photo or video record of their lives that can be used, over and over again, by television producers.
Only one of them, Elizabeth Smart, was found alive.
So what, you may ask. These girls or women are interesting characters. So what if I am drawn to care about what happened to them?
My answer comes in the form of additional questions: What about the black children or brown children who are missing or dead? What about the poor children? What about the boys? What about the men of any color?
Beneath the endless cable promotions and unquenchable public curiosity is a dark hole. If you shine a light into that hole you will find three familiar demons: racism, sexism, and a virulent class bias.
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