Whether you realize it or not, the majority of us fashion ourselves. According to Wikipedia, Self-fashioning, a term introduced by Stephen Greenblatt, is used to describe the process of constructing one's identity and public persona according to a set of socially acceptable standards. You curate your in-person and digital person and while you may not be an influencer or content creator, you probably have developed a persona. In this bonus episode, I talk about what is probably the biggest true crime story of the year. I didn't want to frame this as, "you never know what's happening behind the perfect pictures" because that is common knowledge and that doesn't really help anyone because most people put on their best face for the internet.
I explore if this was just a case of "missing white woman syndrome", but I think there was a lot more to why her story received so much attention. I appreciated that Gabby received widespread media attention and that various agencies acted quickly on her case. Unfortunately that is not the case for all missing and murdered people. While she was not found alive, I have seen her loved ones advocate for other missing people since her death. I linked below some resources, please feel free to reach out to me if you think an organization or resource should be added.
Resources:
https://gabbypetitofoundation.org/
http://blackandmissinginc.com
https://indianlaw.org/issue/Ending-Violence-Against-Native-Women
https://ncadv.org
https://www.thehotline.org
Sources:
https://people.com/human-interest/authorities-ramp-up-search-for-lauren-cho-nj-woman-who-went-missing-near-joshua-tree/
https://www.insideedition.com/death-of-angela-tramonte-who-died-hiking-with-cop-previously-disciplined-for-lying-ruled-accidental
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/daniel-robinson-missing-geologist-search-1270669/
https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/08/lesbian-couple-shot-dead-in-utah-after-alerting-friends-to-creepy-guy-near-their-campsite/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-woman-found-after-hiking-date-phoenix-officer-ruled-accident-n1278150
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome