How Men and Women Differ as Serial Killers (Essay Sample)

Student's Name: Professor: Course: Date: How Men and Women Differ as Serial Killers Traditionally, serial killing was associated with men because women were perceived as caring and compassionate persons who were incapable of taking the lives of fellow human beings in serial killing. However, when a number of female serial murders began to emerge, it was clear that women could also become serial murderers. As Harrison stated in her study, the reason for not viewing women as serial murderers is because "historically, men hunted animals as prey and women gathered nearby resources, like grains and plants, for food" (Harrison, Hughes, and Gott 296). Notably, approximately 15% of serial killers are women (Malizia 44). Serial killing is defined as the "premeditated, intentional killing of three or more victims, with a cooling-off period between killings of at least one week" (Harrison et al. 384). A closer look at how male and female serial killers undertake such crimes shows fascinating stark diversities. While male serial killers hunt their victims, are likely to kill strangers, and have a sexual motivation and a specific modus operandi (strangling), female serial murderers kill those familiar to them, their motivation is usually money or convivence, and they are often more low-key than their male counterparts. A key difference is that while male serial killers are likely to hunt for their victims, who are usually strangers, female serial murderers kill people they know. As research indicates, male serial murder victims are six times more likely to be strangers compared to persons that they know (Miller 4). However, female serial killer victims are likely to be the persons closest to them. To ensure efficiency in their serial murdering, male offenders usually stalk their victims for some time before determining the best way to murder them. For example, recent studies have shown that while 65.4% of male serial killers usually stalk their victims before they finally strike, only 3.6% of female serial murderers stalk their victims (Harrison, Hughes, and Gott 298). The reason is that whereas men stalk their victims because they are strangers, women female murderers usually have the background of their victims, and they understand when and how they will strike. The explanations given for the differences in the types of victims that are serially murdered by both sexes is that whereas male serial murderers tend to "hunt" their victims, female serial murderers often "gather" their victims (Harrison et al. 383). For example, for Harold Shipman, a London doctor who murdered close to 250 people, a majority of the patients were strangers, hence, demonstrating that the victims of male serial killings are majorly strangers. However, as seen by the example of Nannie Doss, who was given a life sentence in 1955 for using arsenic to kill her four husbands, her mother, sister, mother-in-law, and nephew, female serial killers' victims are people known to and close to them. In terms of motive, while the biggest motivation for male serial killers is a sexual compulsion, for women, the motives are usually money or convenience. Because the biggest driver of male serial killers is a sexual compulsion, they usually rape their victims (Miller 2). Although not all serial murders committed by men include a sexual element, a significant number of them have sexually related aspects. However, in the case of women, they murder for a specific purpose/reason (Harrison et al. 384). While the reason may not be actual and practical, it may be psychological. One of those is that of financial gain or convenience. Additionally, the murder may be for revenge. Female serial murderers see serial killings or violence as a catharsis or release of sorts that they can use to avenge something done to them. At least in women's minds, there is always a justification or pragmatist in the female serial killers' thinking (Miller 2). For instance, it could be the case that they want to benefit from a will. Also, it could also be for getting a male spouse or partner out of their way. Furthermore, female serial murderers may kill for an inheritance or money they want to access. John Wayne Gacy shows that men's motive for murder is sexual compulsion considering that out of the 33 people he murdered, he raped some of them (Schmid 198). The aspect of rape introduces the sexual component in many of the serial killings done by male offenders. However, Amy Archer-Gilligan, a serial killer in a nursing home in Connecticut in 1900, murdered her victims because they had designated her as the beneficiary of their insurance plans. This means that female serial offenders are often motivated by money or convenience to engage in such killings. While male serial killers often use strangling as their modus operandi for serial killing, women usually rely on the modus operandi of suffocating, poisoning, or drowning. Studies examining women's MO in serial murder indicate that male serial killers use strangling because they have the advantage of strength, which is deemed practical for such a MO (Schmid 226). Ideally, bashing someone's brain or strangling them requires a test of strength, which most men possess and most women do not have. Also, men are happier using brute force and more violent means, while women's intention is to see the death of the victims and not their suffering (Malizia 44). The psychological explanation for such differences is that women killers are more compassionate, thus, are more inclined towards subtlety and cunning compared to their male counterparts. Ideally, male serial offenders are often violent murderers who use methods such as shooting, stabbing, and beating to death (Harrison et al. 384). An example of the modus operandi used by female serial killers is that deployed by Judy Buenoano. Such a female serial murderer was killed in the electric chair in 1998 because of drowning her son and poisoning her husband with arsenic. The implication in such a case is that women serial murderers often tend to use poisoning and drowning. However, the example of John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted of the serial murder of 33 victims, explains the MO used by male serial offenders. He first tortured and raped his victims before killing them, which further shows the aggressive MO used by male serial killers. Although a majority of male serial killers show a history of trouble in childhood before becoming serial killers, a majority of female serial murderers have a history of fraud. As Schmid indicates, male serial murderers who experience mental health issues and troubled childhood are driven into the life of serial murder and maiming of their victims (204). Mental health challenges are some of the leading causes of serial killing among both genders; however, evidence illustrates that before female serial kil...