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: Female serial killers, meanwhile, are “gatherers,” fitting in with their role in these societies, according to the article published in the journal Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences. The paper clearly shows that, for the most part, men and women serial murderers kill differently. And it offers one interesting theory about why that is. But it’s also just that—a theory, and one that offers a window into some of evolutionary psychology’s limitations. Using media reports going back to 1856, the researchers compared 55 male and 55 female serial killers in the United States on everything from the age of their victims to their education levels. It’s important to consider that media reports may be biased toward more sensationalistic murders, and any generalizations in the study’s findings are based on only several dozen people—both caveats that the researchers acknowledge. But that’s also inevitable. Documented serial killings are rare, even more so when they are perpetrated by women. Harrison thinks there are probably more female serial killers than have been recorded, or even caught. Just as society tends to underestimate women, it also tends to be dismissive of female serial killers, giving them silly nicknames like “Jolly Jane” or “The Giggling Grandma.”