It’s been noted how much the media loves to pick up stories of missing women — so long as they’re white. Today it was reported that the bodies of both Latasha Norman (a black woman) and Emily Sander (a white woman) were discovered yesterday, and unsurprisingly, Emily’s case had received much more attention in the days following her disappearance. And while the whole race aspect definitely has played a part here, I think that the real hook to her story was the whole “porn” thing. It added a dark seediness to the case that, as Jezebel’s Jessica put it, would make her case perfect for Law and Order: SVU to rip from the headlines. The idea of her “secret life as a porn star” led many to jump to the conclusion that it must’ve had something to do with why she’d gone missing, because even if they don’t want to admit it, people still think that women who engage in that sort of activity kinda have it coming. Oh except here’s the thing: Emily wasn’t a porn star.

The adult site that Emily ran before her death has since been removed, but in its place, friends have posted information about the man wanted for questioning in relation to the case. (Israel Mireles — whose whereabouts are currently unknown — was the last person to be seen with Emily, and when cops searched his motel room, they found it bloody and in disarray.)

But the site also notes that Emily was never really the “porn star” the media has made her out to be. She merely modeled nude on the internet, in solo setups. Also, she only began doing it about two months ago. Would anyone ever refer to women in Playboy as “porn stars”? Probably not. And surely, her photos were a lot dirtier than the watered down men’s mag, but someone who has been showing their pussy on the internet for eight weeks isn’t really a star.

But still, even if she’d made gonzo films of spit roasts, or shoving baseball bats up her ass, it doesn’t change the fact that at the end of the day, porno is just a job–unconventional, sure, but still, just a job. Since when is murder an occupational hazard for holding down a legal job?

Source: “Missing Porn Star” Wasn’t Even A Porn Star [Lost And Found]

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