why more men than women serial killers?

[vasa croe]

Ok...i want to know why there are more men serial killers than women serial killers. I understand that male testosterone levels account for a lot of it.

I want to understand why there are so few women serial killers really. I can understand why a male serial killer is the norm, but why so few female serial killers?

[JollySlugg]

I wouldn't say that there are fewer. Remember, that in the past, many female serial killers would have flown under the radar of history because of how women were perceived by society. Even today there is a large subset of society unwilling to admit to the existence of female killers - your Mary Bells, Myra Hindleys and Melissa Huckabees.

[ophion1031]

Men are too dumb to get away with it!

[ace ventura]

they are just as evil but not, as daring, or maybe more careful in their minds, in the way men are, and prefer to use a gentler method of death, with a few exceptions , at least that is the way it has been over the years. plus some are spree killers and others do it with a male partner .
I am surprized there were so many and with so many victims .
here are more examples
dorothea Puente
Genene Jones
Waltaud wagner & others
velma Barfield
Caroline grills
Leonarda Cianciulli
marie Becker
Angel makers of Nagyev
Belle Guinness
Amy Gilligan
Amellia dyer
Beverley Allit
kristen Gilbert
juana Barraza
Aileen wuornos
Lydia Sherman
Mary ann Cotton
Gesina Gottfried
Countess Erszebet Bathory

[doranchak]

Helen Morrison's believes a chromosomal defect is responsible for many serial killers, and the defect tends to emerge in boys as they go through puberty. I don't know if there's any good science behind that idea though.

Here are some other possible explanations, purportedly from a psychology textbook: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061014154901AAIbGNi

[Tahoe27]

Without a one single doubt there are much few women serial killers.

I think there could be many reasons behind it. But, we could take it a step further and ask why are more white?

[doranchak]

Without a one single doubt there are much few women serial killers.

I think there could be many reasons behind it. But, we could take it a step further and ask why are more white?

From this FBI bulletin:

A lack of understanding of base rates can lead to misinterpreting research findings and forensic results. Consider the oft-quoted fact, “Serial killers are usually white males.” While technically correct, at least for the United States, this statement is incomplete. To understand it properly, the relevant base rates also must be considered. Three different studies of serial murderers found black offender proportions of 16, 20, and 20 percent, and female offender proportions of 9, 10, and 16 percent. According to the 2000 census, the U.S. population is 75 percent white and 49 percent male. So, while disproportionately male, the only reason most serial killers in the United States are white is because most of the population is white. More important, all else being equal, serial killers are less likely to be white in predominantly black or Hispanic areas.

[Tahoe27]

So, while disproportionately male, the only reason most serial killers in the United States are white is because most of the population is white.

Is this still true?

More important, all else being equal, serial killers are less likely to be white in predominantly black or Hispanic areas.

That's for sure!

[Soze]

I think there are probably as many women killers as there are men. I do believe, as one as already suggested, that women have long went under the radar for how they are perceived and believe women are capable of being just as cunning and calculating as any man.

Soze

[traveller1st]

I think there are probably as many women killers as there are men. I do believe, as one as already suggested, that women have long went under the radar for how they are perceived and believe women are capable of being just as cunning and calculating as any man.

Soze

Also women are naturally better at cleaning up afterwards.