History Main / MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome

** A missing white ''boy'' version in "Manhattan Vigil". When a white boy from a wealthy family goes missing, Olivia and Munch recall similarities to a case from thirteen years earlier. Olivia notes that because the child from the earlier case was a Hispanic boy from a working-class family, they had a fraction of the resources in that case. Especially striking because [[spoiler:it turns out to be the same guy in both cases; if they'd put in the work to solve the first case, the second case would never have happened. Not to mention the two other boys kidnapped and killed by the same perp.]]

* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', the disappearance of a white girl on a school trip becomes the subject of a media frenzy and is eventually tied to the disappearance of a local black girl. The mother of the black girl excoriates a Nancy Grace knock-off for coming to her only when her daughter's disappearance was tied up with the white girl's -- the mother is willing to use the "journalist" for much-needed publicity, but she doesn't for one second think the woman cares about her or her missing daughter. She also calls out the cops for blowing off her daughter's disappearance, but sending in the Major Case Squad to investigate the white girl's and points out the bitter irony that had the cops and media paid more attention to her daughter's case, the white girl might still be alive because the young man who (it was assumed at the time) killed both of them would have been arrested for the first crime. [[spoiler:(She turns out to be RightForTheWrongReason in that thinking.)]]

* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', the disappearance of a white girl on a school trip becomes the subject of a media frenzy and is eventually tied to the disappearance of a local black girl. The mother of the black girl excoriates a Nancy Grace knock-off for coming to her only when her daughter's disappearance was tied up with the white girl's -- the mother is willing to use the "journalist" for much-needed publicity, but she doesn't for one second think the woman cares about her or her missing daughter. She also calls out the cops for blowing off her daughter's disappearance, but sending in the Major Case Squad to investigate the white girl's and points out the bitter irony that had the cops and media paid more attention to her daughter's case, the white girl might still be alive because the young man who (it was assumed at the time) killed both of them would have been arrested for the first crime.

--> News reporter: Just how many more ''minutes'' does she have to suffer before rescue crews can free her? HUH!? *Starts crying*.

* ''Website/TheOnion'': "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/missing-white-girl-drives-missing-black-girl-from,3072/ Missing White Girl Drives Missing Black Girl From Headlines]]"
** "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ugly-girl-killed,988/ Ugly Girl Killed]]" is a non-racial version, parodying the "missing pretty girl syndrome" variation. A little girl is brutally murdered, but there's no outpouring of sympathy and horror simply because she was homely...a deliberate TakeThat at the frenzy surrounding the then-recent killing of [=Jon-Benet=] Ramsey, who was a perfect little princess type.

--> '''Mrs. Stevens:''' We're going to do our best to make sure Hanna is treated with the sympathy and sensitivity that she as a photogenic white girl deserves!

--->'''Irritated Reporter''': "That's not ''news''!"

* Parodied in ''Film/ScaryMovie'' when Cindy Campbell sends a message to the police saying "White woman in trouble!" The next shot is of the house surrounded by police crews.

--> '''Brenda''': Oh come on. Cindy, the news is on! Another little white girl fell down a well! Fifty black people got their ass beat by the police today, but the ''whole world'' gotta stop for one little whitey down a hole!
** Of course, said "white girl" is actually the film's version of [[Literature/TheRing Samara]] coming out of the TV.

* Discussed (specifically the Natalee Holloway case) in Season 5 of ''Series/TheWire'' when [=McNulty=] and Freamon suggest that the lack of support from their bosses in solving more than twenty murders is due to the victims being poor and black, leading to the episode's epigraph -- "This ain't Aruba, bitch."
-->'''Bunk:''' You can go a long way in this country killing black folk. Young males especially. "Misdemeanor homicides."\\

* ''Series/LawAndOrder'': When a young black girl is raped, Anita pleads with Borough Detective Commander Dietz to allow more teams out covering the streets to find the attacker. She says: "I bet if this was some five-year-old white beauty queen you'd be out there ringing the doorbells yourself."

-->'''Detective Briscoe:''' The mayor down there yet?\\

* There is a FantasticRacism version in VideoGame/DragonAgeII with a serial killer who targets elf girls. Law enforcement is not interested -- even LawfulGood city-guard Aveline is prepared to look the other way if you just kill him. Another factor in this case is that [[spoiler:the quest-giver, a city magistrate, is the killer's father. Even the killer ([[ReluctantPsycho remorsefully]]) tells you [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections his father is just going to help cover up his crimes]].]]

* [[http://www.asgoodasnews.com/volume_2/issue_1/fox_announces_the.html This article]] mercilessly satirizes this phenomenon.

** "[[http://www.theonion.com/video/thousands-of-girls-match-description-of-missing-so,18302/ Thousands Of Girls Match Description Of Missing Sorority Sister]]" combines this with NeedleInAStackOfNeedles.

* :''Film/TwentyTwoJumpStreet'': Lampshaded. When the two learn that the victim is a black girl, Schmidt tries to say that it's even sadder now that the victim's black solely to curry favor with the captain.

* :''Film/TwentyTwoJumpStreet'': Lampshaded. Wwhen the two learn that the victim is a black girl, Schmidt tries to say that it's even sadder now that the victim's black solely to curry favor with the captain.

* In the 2012 movie of ''Film/TwentyOneJumpStreet'', Jenko and Schmidt are sent undercover into a high school to find out about a new synthetic drug being sold. Their captain (played by Music/IceCube) says that since it's white people dying, the police care.

* Lampshaded in the sequel ''Film/TwentyTwoJumpStreet'', where when the two learn that the victim is a black girl, Schmidt tries to say that it's even sadder now that the victim's black solely to curry favor with the captain.

** "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ugly-girl-killed,988/ Ugly Girl Killed]]" is a non-racial version, parodying the "missing pretty girl syndrome" variation A little girl is brutally murdered, but there's no outpouring of sympathy and horror simply because she was homely...a deliberate TakeThat at the frenzy surrounding the then-recent killing of [=Jon-Benet=] Ramsey, who was a perfect little princess type.

** The protagonist is eventually charged with [[spoiler:the rape and murder of his (black) girlfriend]], but it's suggested that the only reason they're throwing the book at him on that case is because he's also on the hook for Mary.

* In ''Series/TheExorcist'', Casey, the possession victim, at one point vanishes. At the same time, a killer has been targeting black people, brutally murdering them for parts of their bodies. Casey is white, blonde, conventionally attractive and [[spoiler: the daughter of Regan MacNeil from the original movie, which nets extra shock value for the press]]. She gets so much more attention that people actually hold a protest about it.

The term Missing White Woman Syndrome describes the fact that Western media will focus on the murder, kidnapping, or disappearance of Caucasian females -- usually pretty, young, and middle- or upper-class -- to the exclusion of male, minority, poor, or disabled missing persons.

Compare IfItBleedsItLeads, LocalAngle, MenAreTheExpendableGender, WorstNewsJudgmentEver.

** The actual plot doesn't really follow this, though. The police ''did'' find and capture them; we'll never know if they would have ultimately escaped justice since he murdered them in cold blood before their trial.

* ''Film/FreedomOnMyMind'': This film is a documentary about the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Many progressive young white people descend on the state in order to help black people get the right to vote. More than one person interviewed notes that the most important reason that white college kids had to be brought to Mississippi to help, is that the national media would care a lot more if clean-cut white kids get murdered in Mississippi than they would if black people get murdered. Thus the presence of the white volunteers is necessary to draw attention and to gain the sympathy of white America. (And in fact, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Chaney,_Goodman,_and_Schwerner the murder that galvanizes opinion across the nation]] involves two white people and only one black person.)

The term Missing White Woman Syndrome describes the fact that Western media will focus on the murder, kidnapping, or disappearance of Caucasian females--usually pretty, young, and middle- or upper-class--to the exclusion of male, minority, poor, or disabled missing persons.

** Lampshaded when Inez Soto ties the men who kidnapped, brutalized, and raped her to the murders of white people at the Nite Owl diner, because otherwise nobody in 1950s Los Angeles would care about getting justice for a Mexican immigrant.

* An example from ''Film/{{Primeval}}'', when Orlando Jones points out that the Crocodile is just like OJ: eating up bunch of Africans, no one gives a fuck, kills one white lady, and they send the news crew.
* In ''[[Film/{{Gridlockd}} Gridlock'd]]'', Spoon calls an ambulance to help is friend who has overdosed and gets hung up upon when they hear his voice. When he calls again, he says something along the lines of "there's a white woman hurt and a bunch of black guys smashing cars and yelling about the revolution!"
* It's really easy to miss, but it gets {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/MeganIsMissing''. The movie features a news coverage of Megan's disappearance that dedicates several minutes to tell the audience how popular and beautiful Megan is while showing pictures of her. At the end of the segment, the reporter quickly mentions another missing child named ''Turcell Jackson'', and goes to commercials.
** The director has a long message on the film's website that decries much of modern America, and specifically mentions the underreporting of black and Hispanic child abductions. [[{{Hypocrite}} And then he makes a film about a white girl being kidnapped.]]

* Lampshaded in ''Literature/DragonBlood'': Tisala relied on this trope when she joined a conspiracy against the king, as he could not so easily kill a woman of noble birth without it being noticed. It ... didn't really work like she intended.

* ''Literature/GoneGirl'' by Gillian Flynn follows the huge media coverage following the disappearance of Amy Dunne, an upper middle class blonde woman. However, there are other reasons for the coverage, such as Amy being a minor celebrity for inspiring a famous book series called ''Amazing Amy'' and Amy's husband, Nick, behaving very suspiciously during the investigation. It's a InvokedTrope and a ExploitedTrope as well. [[spoiler:Not only did Nick not kill Amy, but it turns out ''she'' was the real psychopath and went to extreme lengths -- including staging her disappearance and letting the media assume Nick's guilt -- just to get back at him for infidelity.]]
* ''Dark Places'', also by Gillian Flynn, has a subplot about a Missing Pretty White Woman named Lisette Stephens. The trope is lampshaded heavily as everyone believes she is probably dead and comments that the only reason she keeps getting attention is because people only care about disappearances when it's pretty women like her that disappear.
* One of the first strong clues that Hercule Poirot uncovers in ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' is the revelation that the killer is connected to the kidnapping and murder of Daisy Armstrong. Daisy Armstrong was a little girl, white, whose family was rich and connected to nearly all the aristocracy of England ''and'' America. Christie grounds her setting more firmly in the 1920's, however, by making it clear that Daisy Armstrong's kidnapping attracted much more attention due to the identity of her kidnapper, a powerful mafia boss who blackmailed her family for exorbitant sums, driving everyone in that family to tragic ends.

* In ''Literature/TheExtinctionParade'', this trope is the reason why vampires use the poor as their main food source. They treat hunting upper- and middle-class people as a form of HuntingTheMostDangerousGame, as when one of them goes missing, it typically sparks a manhunt, forcing the vampire to devote considerable resources to [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident covering up the death as something mundane]] like an accident, a suicide, a mugging gone wrong, or a crime of passion. When someone from the slums goes missing, however, it's usually chalked up to street crime, with few outside the victim's family paying it any mind. As Western standards of living grew in the 20th century and eliminated the most grinding forms of poverty, this has forced many vampires to move to Third World countries, where there are still teeming masses of desperately poor people that society won't miss, in order to maintain their lifestyles.

--> '''Katherine:''' They don't want to make it easy for you, the media. It's like a puzzle. They'll give you little clues, and you've got to do some of the work. Like when they say "Emma Watson, hot ass and nude photos", what they're really saying is "oh, she's given a UN speech about gender equality". When they say "Girl goes missing", what they're really saying is "''white'' girl goes missing".

--> '''Bunk:''' You can go a long way in this country killing black folk. Young males especially. "Misdemeanor homicides."
--> '''[=McNulty=]:''' If Marlo was killing white women...[..] One white...ex-cheerleader tourist missing in Aruba.
--> '''Bunk:''' Trouble is, this ain't Aruba, bitch.
--> '''Lester:''' You think if three-hundred ''white'' people were killed in this city, ''every year'', they wouldn't send the 82nd Airborne? Negro, please.

* Brought up in ''Series/BostonLegal'' when after Denise's Hispanic housekeeper's son is abducted, she goes to Brad for help and point out that since the child is Hispanic, it's not like the media will be all over the case.

* In the ''Series/CriminalMindsSuspectBehavior'' spin-off this happens in the first episode, complete with the hysterical mother of a black little girl whose kidnapping was ignored. It turns out that [[spoiler:the kidnapper has taken a lot of children without being caught because he's really fixated on eight year old black girls, and the only way they get both girls back safely is by bucking the media and local cops, and working the black girl's case]].

** In "It Takes a Village," the detectives realize that a serial killer is at work when the body of his fourth victim--a young African-American boy, like the others--is discovered. His enraged grandmother suggests that had the cops handled the other cases properly, her grandson might still be alive, while the parents of one boy angrily describe the other cops as insinuating that their son had run off with a gang. Race is never mentioned, but it's obvious that the relatives feel it played a factor.
* Used completely unironically as the entire plot of AMC's ''Series/TheKilling''. The series is all about solving the murder of Rosie Larson at any cost. Early on the case bring the police to a Seattle mosque where the imam explains that no one in the community is interested in helping the police because the police haven't even bothered to investigating missing children from their neighborhood. After that the implications of an entire show dedicated to a missing white girl are sort of just awkwardly ignored.

* In ''Series/{{iZombie}}'' a reporter calls out the police for holding a press conference about a recently dead middle class white girl while not even assigning a detective to look into the dozens of poor people, many of them people of color, who have gone missing from a local skate park recently. [[spoiler: They're being murdered to feed zombies their brains, and at least one police lieutenant is a zombie himself who's covering it up.]]

* ''Theatre/{{Ruined}}'': DiscussedTrope, and very serious. The play is set in the Congo during UsefulNotes/TheCongoWars. The violence has culminated to the point where a white missionary is ruined. A local African man is very disturbed by the murder of the missionary; if the militia are lawless enough and confident enough to kill white people, it's a very bad sign for the natives.

** Averted in the case of the game's prominent serial killer Quentin. Even though he's exclusively targeting human women [[spoiler: to use their body parts to re-build a simulacrum of his dead wife]], no one save one [[CowboyCop old templar]] believes that he exists and that these women are simply running off.

-->Whatever the precise figure of the disappeared, however, we can safely assume that it included hundred of thousands, if not ''millions'' of young, attractive white women. [[AuthorAvatar Buck]] is watching Creator/{{CNN}}. Think of it: Millions of missing white women, all at the same time. What would CNN do? Would they cover them all? Or maybe just the blonde ones?

** Parodied when a crowd of reporters swarm the site of a school bus crash that claimed the life of a young girl. They make zero effort to conceal their disappointment when it is announced that the victim's surname is Gutierrez.

** Once more in "A Shot in the Dark". Peter shoots Cleveland's son, Carter's lawyers [[AssholeVictim assassinate Cleveland Jr's character]] in the resulting trial, and as a crowd of people form around Cleveland's house, Peter comes clean that none of it was true and he did shoot Cleveland Jr. Cleveland senior takes the blame in his stead - and the entire crowd is immediately ''gone'' by the time he finishes his sentence.

* In the short-lived ''Friday:The Animated Series'', the first episode parodies this trope. The media is focused on the disappearance of Suzy Applebee, who's described (completely unironically) as "a white woman with a charming smile" and who looks basically like a blonde Snow White. Through a series of unfortunate events, main character Craig is arrested for her kidnapping, despite there being ''no evidence to connect him to her or the kidnapping''. Towards the end of the episode, he is nearly convicted for the crime until Suzy herself shows up at the proceedings to put a stop to it. As it turns out, she wasn't even kidnapped; she was just out of town baby-sitting for her sister.

** "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ugly-girl-killed,988/ Ugly Girl Killed]]" is a non-racial version, parodying the "missing pretty girl syndrome" variation A little girl is brutally murdered, but there's no outpouring of sympathy and horror simply because she was homely...a deliberate TakeThat at the frenzy surrounding the then-recent killing of [=Jon-Benet=] Ramsey, who was a perfect little princess type.

** And in "Bigfat", Peter has gone missing in Canada for two months, one of the rangers says, "Most black men don't possess the skills to survive out in the wilderness". When Lois corrects him, he says, "We need to regroup because we haven't been looking."
** Once more in "A Shot in the Dark". Peter shoots Cleveland's son, Carter's lawyers [[AssholeVictim assassinate Cleveland Jr's character]] in the resulting trial, and as a crowd of people form around Cleveland's house, Peter comes clean that none of it was true and he did shoot Cleveland Jr. Cleveland senior takes the blame in his stead - and the entire crowd is immediately ''gone'' by the time he finishes his sentence.

* In the short-lived ''WesternAnimation/FridayTheAnimatedSeries'', the first episode parodies this trope. The media is focused on the disappearance of Suzy Applebee, who's described (completely unironically) as "a white woman with a charming smile" and who looks basically like a blonde Snow White. Through a series of unfortunate events, main character Craig is arrested for her kidnapping, despite there being ''no evidence to connect him to her or the kidnapping''. Towards the end of the episode, he is nearly convicted for the crime until Suzy herself shows up at the proceedings to put a stop to it. As it turns out, she wasn't even kidnapped; she was just out of town baby-sitting for her sister.

[[folder:Magazines]]
* The "missing pretty girl syndrome" variation was brutally parodied in ''Website/TheOnion'' with the article "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ugly-girl-killed,988/ Ugly Girl Killed]]". A little girl is brutally murdered, but there's no outpouring of sympathy and horror simply because she was homely...a deliberate TakeThat at the frenzy surrounding the then-recent killing of [=Jon-Benet=] Ramsey, who was a perfect little princess type.
* Someone on a ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' photoplasty made [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_319_if-news-was-forced-to-tell-truth_p2/ the above image]] to show what the headline would look like if the news media were more honest.
[[/folder]]

** "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ugly-girl-killed,988/ Ugly Girl Killed]]" is a non-racial version.

** And in "Bigfat", Peter has gone missing in Canada for two months, one of the rangers asks Lois if he's black. When she says no, they reveal they haven't been searching at all.
** Once more in "A Shot in the Dark". Peter shoots Cleveland's son, Carter's lawyers [[AssholeVictim assassinate Cleveland Jr's character]] in the resulting trial, and as a crowd of people form around Cleveland's house, Peter comes clean that none of it was true and he did shoot Cleveland Jr. Cleveland senior takes the blame in his stead - and the entire crowd is immediately ''gone'' by the time he finishes his sentence.

* In the short-lived ''Friday: The Animated Series'', the first episode parodies this trope. The media is focused on the disappearance of Suzy Applebee, who's described (completely unironically) as "a white woman with a charming smile" and who looks basically like a blonde Snow White. Through a series of unfortunate events, main character Craig is arrested for her kidnapping, despite there being ''no evidence to connect him to her or the kidnapping''. Towards the end of the episode, he is nearly convicted for the crime until Suzy herself shows up at the proceedings to put a stop to it. As it turns out, she wasn't even kidnapped; she was just out of town baby-sitting for her sister.

* There is a FantasticRacism version in VideoGame/DragonAgeII with a serial killer who targets elf girls. Law enforcement is not interested -- even LawfulGood city-guard Aveline is prepared to look the other way if you just kill him. Another factor in this case is that [[spoiler:the quest-giver, a city magistrate, is the killer's father. Even the killer tells you [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections his father is just going to help cover up his crimes]].]]

* There is a FantasticRacism version in VideoGame/DragonAgeII with a serial killer who targets elf girls. Law enforcement is not interested -- even LawfulGood city-guard Aveline is prepared to look the other way if you just kill him. Another factor in this case is that [[spoiler:the quest-giver, a city magistrate, is the killer's father. Even the killer tells you his father is just going to help cover up his crimes.]]

* UK comedian Diane Morgan asking why whenever a pretty girl gets killed, people say "look how pretty she was" as though it's somehow more of a loss, but whenever an ugly girl gets killed, no one says "fortunately she was an absolute moose!"

[[folder:General]]
* Read this very page and you'll notice that even the parodies of this trope tend to focus on the ''white'' part of this phenomenon, rather than the ''woman'' part. To put it another way, ''even most of the people picking this thing apart'' prefer to focus on female victims and are generally content leaving out male ones, [[{{Hypocrite}}performing the trope even as they object to it.]]
[[/folder]]