<p>I cringe at the thought of the young woman’s family reading these reports, because it appears as if there’s an implied element of slut shaming in them. But I don’t think that’s the intention. I think the underlying motive, maybe even unconscious motive, in describing the deceased’s attire, as well as her earlier appearance in a bar, is to counter the terrifying notion that anyone could be killed on the subway at any time for no reason. Once readers can put her in a category–girl who set out to party, got hammered, and fell–they can feel that this isn’t the sort of thing that could happen to them, that the danger wasn’t the city or the subway or other passengers, but one girl’s poor judgment. It’s comforting to be able to say “Well, I would never be in that situation,” and then not think any further about the whole event.</p>