Why Are Most Serial Killers Men? A Look at the Theories.
Content Idea 1: The Psychology of Belief: Why Conspiracy Theories Grip Us (And How to Spot Them)
- Rationale: Posts like "Why do people believe X when there's no evidence?", "Can someone explain the appeal of QAnon?", or "ELI5: Flat Earthers" are incredibly common. There's a deep public fascination and often frustration with understanding why people adopt beliefs that seem counter to evidence. This topic taps into psychology, sociology, and current events.
- Example Outline/Key Points to Cover:
- The Need for Certainty & Control: How complex, chaotic events make people seek simple, overarching explanations.
- Cognitive Biases at Play: Confirmation bias (seeking info that confirms beliefs), proportionality bias (big events must have big causes), Dunning-Kruger effect.
- Social & Identity Factors: Echo chambers, group belonging, distrust of authority/mainstream sources, feeling "in the know."
- Emotional Drivers: Fear, anxiety, a desire for meaning, or a sense of being special/having secret knowledge.
- Historical Context: Conspiracy theories aren't new – examples throughout history.
- Red Flags & Critical Thinking: How to identify common tactics used in conspiracy theories (e.g., unfalsifiable claims, cherry-picking data, appeals to emotion over logic).
- The Harm: Real-world consequences of widespread conspiracy belief.
- Target Audience: General public curious about human behavior, individuals concerned about misinformation, psychology enthusiasts, educators, people trying to understand friends/family who believe in conspiracies.
Content Idea 2: "Am I Normal?" – Decoding Common Anxieties and Intrusive Thoughts
- Rationale: Questions like "Is it normal to think X?", "I have these weird thoughts, am I crazy?", "ELI5: Intrusive Thoughts" pop up constantly. Many people experience anxieties or thoughts they find distressing or bizarre and worry about their normalcy or mental health. This taps into mental health awareness and destigmatization.
- Example Outline/Key Points to Cover:
- What are Intrusive Thoughts? Defining them as unwanted, often distressing thoughts/images that pop into mind (common themes: harm, sexual, religious).
- The "Don't Think of a Pink Elephant" Effect: Why trying to suppress thoughts often makes them stronger.
- Everyone Has Weird Thoughts: Normalizing the experience; the difference between having a thought and acting on it or it becoming obsessive.
- Common Anxieties: Social anxiety, fear of judgment, imposter syndrome – explaining these common experiences.
- When Does it Become a Problem? Distinguishing between common experiences and conditions like OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (focus on distress, impairment in functioning).
- Coping Mechanisms: Mindfulness, acceptance (not agreement), cognitive restructuring basics.
- When and How to Seek Help: Signs it's time to talk to a professional.
- Target Audience: Young adults, individuals exploring their mental health, people feeling isolated by their thoughts, psychology students, those seeking self-understanding and reassurance.
Content Idea 3: The "Paradox of Choice": Why More Options Make Us Less Happy (And How to Simplify)
- Rationale: Users often express overwhelm: "I'm paralyzed by choices when buying X," "How do I decide on a career path with so many options?", "ELI5: Analysis Paralysis." The modern world bombards us with choices, and this can surprisingly lead to dissatisfaction.
- Example Outline/Key Points to Cover:
- Introducing the Concept: Barry Schwartz's "Paradox of Choice" – how abundant choice can lead to anxiety, indecision, and dissatisfaction.
- Psychological Mechanisms:
- Decision Fatigue: The mental energy drain of constant decision-making.
- Regret & Anticipated Regret: Fear of making the "wrong" choice and missing out on something better (FOMO).
- Opportunity Cost: Every choice means foregoing other options, which can feel like a loss.
- Escalation of Expectations: With more options, we expect to find the "perfect" one.
- Real-World Examples: Dating apps, streaming services, consumer goods, career choices.
- Strategies for Simplifying & Making Better Choices:
- Limiting your options (e.g., only consider 3-5).
- "Good enough" vs. "Perfect" (Satisficing vs. Maximizing).
- Defining your core needs/priorities beforehand.
- Setting time limits for decisions.
- Practicing gratitude for choices made.
- Target Audience: Consumers feeling overwhelmed, individuals at life crossroads (career, relationships), productivity enthusiasts, psychology and behavioral economics fans.
Origin Reddit Post
r/nostupidquestions
Why almost every serial killer is a male?
Posted by u/EugeneStein•06/08/2025
Top Comments
u/Hot_Revolution_2850
Yeah, women are a lot better at masking and conforming to societal expectations very early on compared to men. This is because more is expected of women than men. For example, these gender ex
u/DrumBxyThing
"boys will be boys"
u/shootYrTv
Because serial killing is frequently a power fantasy, even occasionally non-sexually, and men are more prone to having and acting out these power fantasies.
u/Pantherdraws
Hell, Giulia Tofana (who was NEVER ARRESTED) and six other women (who *were*) murdered over 600 men before they were caught. And those are far from the only female murderers I know about.
u/SnesC
>A leading theory for this phenomenon is that men are simply more violent than women. In the world, men are arrested at almost four times the rate as women for violent crimes. Another theo
u/Footnotegirl1
I mean, just as an example: My daughter has always been what would in the past have been called a tomboy. Very rough and ready, preferred playing with slugs and frogs and insects than dolls a
u/Damakoas
For one, the estimated rate of male psychopathy is 3 percent. For women it's around 1 percent. A very high percentage of serial killers are psychopaths.
u/Bobbob34
Same reason the vast majority of road rage, assaults, murders, are committed by men. We're too emotional and can't just think logically and calmly about things.
u/Ok-Application-8747
A very common cause of death is: a man
u/UnableLocal2918
here are some stats and facts
[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-equation/201205/female-serial-killers](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-equation/201205/fema
u/Pantherdraws
I mean, not really. Lots of shitty bullies go on to be nurses for the same reason lots of shitty bullies go on to be cops - the barriers are low, the power and societal respect afforded to th
u/Damakoas
For one, the estimated rate of male psychopathy is 3 percent. For women it's around 1 percent. A very high percentage of serial killers are psychopaths.
u/DirectionBubbly789
....and white ??👈
u/an-la
You can delete the word *serial* and still ask the same question. I suppose it's a combination of testosterone and societal norms.
u/Tasty-Ingenuity-4662
I suspect that we might eventually find out that the rates are pretty similar in women and men and that women are just better at "flying under the radar" and not acting out in ways that would
u/Tryagain409
Because if a female serial killer tried to drag me into a van I'd win. You might say oh guns and sure but everyone would hear that.
Besides you can never really know how many serial killers
u/badgersprite
Almost every killer is male full stop. 90% of all murders are committed by men. There’s nothing particularly unique about serial killers in this regard
u/KinkyAndABitFreaky
I have experienced life with very high testosterone levels and high estrogen levels after transitioning.
My brain did not handle testosterone well. I was VERY aggressive.
I had constant t
u/WhileAccomplished722
beyond any other factors men are just stronger the likelyhood that a female killer would get killed at some point early on by some random person is much higher
u/an-la
You can delete the word *serial* and still ask the same question. I suppose it's a combination of testosterone and societal norms.
u/Bobbob34
Same reason the vast majority of road rage, assaults, murders, are committed by men. We're too emotional and can't just think logically and calmly about things.
u/SnesC
>A leading theory for this phenomenon is that men are simply more violent than women. In the world, men are arrested at almost four times the rate as women for violent crimes. Another theo
u/Pantherdraws
A female serial killer is most likely to be a nurse or other medical professional, so she could kill you quietly and no one would look too deeply into it.
u/BlindingDart
Same argument still. Becoming a qualified nurse to murder people is still way more effort than simply buying a van and jumping random woman you come across.
u/griphookk
The vast majority of all violent crimes and all sexual crimes are committed by men. Even if testosterone predisposes someone to aggression, it’s still a person’s choice to hurt someone or not
u/MolassesInevitable53
Or take small children. Like Myra Hindley
u/wildebeastees
Yes but there are still more men killing by poison than there is women killing by poison. If a woman is killing someone she is more likely to do it by poison than a man but "if a woman is kil
u/icsy0
i guarantee if every killer was caught men would still be a much higher percentage
u/mayaorsomething
Precisely. Boys are often seen as easier to raise only because parents often let them do whatever they want. The normalization of emotionally neglecting boys is something we really need to ge
u/Filledwithrage24
This is the right answer.
u/MashTactics
This ties into a larger question about violent crime that I do think warrants a real discussion at some point. I don't think we as a society are possibly ready to objectively break it down, b
u/Filledwithrage24
This is the right answer.
u/MashTactics
This ties into a larger question about violent crime that I do think warrants a real discussion at some point. I don't think we as a society are possibly ready to objectively break it down, b
u/shootYrTv
Because serial killing is frequently a power fantasy, even occasionally non-sexually, and men are more prone to having and acting out these power fantasies.
u/Nature_Girl_831
Because women have periods and are therefore better at cleaning up blood /s
u/Terrible_Hurry841
When I hear about male serial killers, they usually tend to attack their victims physically and are not usually interested in hiding the bodies.
The few female serial killers I’ve heard of h
u/CosmackMagus
How would a serial killer financially benefit from it? Asking for a friend.
Inb4: they start a podcast about their crimes.
u/Footnotegirl1
Women are held to stronger social expectations than men are.
u/paradisetossed7
Just to add some other theories - female serial killers are more likely to kill in ways that are less detectable, like poison. Lucy Letby is the most prolific child serial killer in recent UK
u/_BeautifullyBroken
Probably women are just too smart to get caught lol
u/SassyTeacupPrincess
Finally, some statistics. Thanks for posting this!
u/Fantastic-Corner-605
Stop complaining and start working to bridge the gender gap /s
u/shieldyboii
Men are on average more agressive than women. For people close to the average, it isn’t a significant difference.
But if you only select the top 0.1% most aggressive population, the vast ma
u/sweet-tea-13
I also think female serial killers are less likely to get caught because they fly more under the radar and would draw less suspicion from police and investigators just for being a women.
Th
u/No-Midnight-2187
I’m a man with trauma and I think it’s a combo of biology + trauma that leads men down this path. A lot of us don’t have healthy coping mechanisms/outlets or proper therapy to discuss, then r
u/shieldyboii
Men are on average more agressive than women. For people close to the average, it isn’t a significant difference.
But if you only select the top 0.1% most aggressive population, the vast ma
u/Unlucky_Leprechaaun
I been saying this my entire life. If women where physically just as strong as us we would see much more violent crimes from them, murders etc..
I still think men would be a higher number bu
u/mayaorsomething
A painful double-standard.
And a painful disservice to those boys, who are being deprived of the chance to learn and grow from mistakes.
u/ExitTheHandbasket
Nearly every serial killer *that we're aware of* is male. Apparently the women are just better at not getting caught.
u/Rashaen
There's an old trope that men shoot, women poison. It's not a bad one. Men are taught and socialized with overt violence being an option if not a virtue while women are raised with a priority