Title: The differences between male and female serial killers — Quartz
Headings: If male serial killers “hunt” their victims, what do female serial killers do?
If male serial killers “hunt” their victims, what do female serial killers do?
Content: The 2015 paper showed that 39% of female serial killers worked in health care. They largely stayed in one place—like women in many prehistoric societies, according to the researchers—and used methods less outwardly violent, like poison. ( Again, these are generalizations. As Harrison pointed out, America’s most famous female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, portrayed in the 2003 movie Monster, had a more of “male” way of killing). Characteristic
Male serial killer
Female serial killer
Targeted stranger
85.5%
14.5%
Related to victim
9.1%
58.2%
Stalked victim
65.4%
3.6%
Motive: financial
16.7%
51.9%
Motive: sexual
75%
7.3%
Killed victims outside of birthplace
67.3%
25.5%
Nickname shows brutality
78.1%
53.3%
Then there’s the question of motive—and here’s where the paper is potentially the most contentious. The researchers found that men usually hunt women to gain some sort of sexual satisfaction (49% killed exclusively women in the researchers’ sample, and 75% killed for sexual gratification). Women don’t discriminate as much in terms of gender, but they will kill for financial gain (16.7% of the men and 51.9% for women murdered for money). The researchers theorize that the differences in the killings have to do with differences in reproductive potential.