Research paper
Many people are aware of Serial Killers, specifically male serial killers. But, what we don’t see or hear much of is female serial killers. Although they have similarities, they also have differences. Male serial killers frequently commit kidnapping, rape, and mutilation to express their rage and desire for control; female serial killers usually throw themselves straight into the killing. Furthermore, while for many male serial killers, death is only a conclusion to their fantasy or a function of it, females kill to kill. It’s their mode of expression. According to Harrison, a Penn State psychology professor, he said “Female serial killers are a rarely studied phenomenon, perhaps because of culturally ingrained notions that women would …show more content…
But this can be a deadly misconception”. Most female serial killers played up gender roles to their advantage. About two-thirds of them for whom data was available were described as having average or above average attractiveness, which avoided suspicion. They also took on jobs in stereotypical feminine professions such as nursing, care giving, and teaching which gave them access to vulnerable victims. For example, the article “Female serial killers in the United States: Means, motives, and makings” did a study on nurses, who killed their patients who were ill and close to dying, so when they died, employees and family members assumed it was due to natural causes so they didn’t investigate it, leaving the serial killer free.
In the article “Female serial killers in the United States: Means, motives, and makings” by Marissa A. Harrison, Erin A. Murphy, Lavina Y. Ho and Claire V. Flaherty, they discuss the different researches on Female Serial Killers and the information that they obtained from their data. A few of the researches that are mentioned in this article are Hickey’s (1991), Kelleher and Kelleher
Many people are aware of Serial Killers, specifically male serial killers. But, what we don’t see or hear much of is female serial killers. Although they have similarities, they also have differences. Male serial killers frequently commit kidnapping, rape, and mutilation to express their rage and desire for control; female serial killers usually throw themselves straight into the killing. Furthermore, while for many male serial killers, death is only a conclusion to their fantasy or a function of it, females kill to kill. It’s their mode of expression. According to Harrison, a Penn State psychology professor, he said “Female serial killers are a rarely studied phenomenon, perhaps because of culturally ingrained notions that women would …show more content…
But this can be a deadly misconception”. Most female serial killers played up gender roles to their advantage. About two-thirds of them for whom data was available were described as having average or above average attractiveness, which avoided suspicion. They also took on jobs in stereotypical feminine professions such as nursing, care giving, and teaching which gave them access to vulnerable victims. For example, the article “Female serial killers in the United States: Means, motives, and makings” did a study on nurses, who killed their patients who were ill and close to dying, so when they died, employees and family members assumed it was due to natural causes so they didn’t investigate it, leaving the serial killer free.
In the article “Female serial killers in the United States: Means, motives, and makings” by Marissa A. Harrison, Erin A. Murphy, Lavina Y. Ho and Claire V. Flaherty, they discuss the different researches on Female Serial Killers and the information that they obtained from their data. A few of the researches that are mentioned in this article are Hickey’s (1991), Kelleher and Kelleher