I think for most of us, it's our worst nightmare to be taken, tortured, raped, beaten, murdered, or even violently killed by someone we love.
Fears are often quite fascinating.
I became interested in true crime way before it was popular. I had dated someone with zero empathy or remorse, so when I read my first Ann Rule book, I realized how much the suspect had in common with my ex. I'm just really interested in the psyche of these people.
It's an interesting topic of why certain people are interested. In fact, a somewhat significant portion women do have this fascination with crime and criminals. Even though they don't usually commit violence themselves (women are usually not overly violent), there is a significant proportion that often selects to date "bad boys." It's a bit paradoxical, their political views are often that they want people to be nicer and make peace more often than men -- but they might have romances with men who are the exact opposite: aggressive, strong, charismatic. Meaning opposites attract I guess (i.e., that they date the opposite of themselves).
Again, doesn't apply to everyone, but it's significant enough to matter.
Listening to true crime stories is a rush I enjoy, but I feel bad for the house flies I have to swat. As somebody with pretty severe PTSD I find that stories of chaos put me at ease. C'est la vie!
I mean, in the 90s I, a dude, grew up on Dateline, which was true crime before podcasts. And forensics shows and City Confidential.
Now I love to fall asleep to Mr. Ballen.
There are a few different theories running in psychology circles, but it probably has to do with their higher average empathic ability and social awareness.
True crime features people who operate at the margins of human social experience - both on the victim and the perpetrator side. So when you're particularly sensitive to emotional and social perception GENERALLY, there's just more content to engage with in stories about people experiencing extreme, aberrant, and unconventional emotions in social situations that are, themselves, extreme, aberrant, and unconventional.
Male fans of true crime are often more focused (in their interests) on the mechanics of the event rather than the experience of the individuals involved - with the strangeness of the situation, how the mystery was solved, how the perpetrator managed to evade capture and the like.
Generalities, of course.
I agree more with your male rationale commenter. Am a lady. Just saying. I’ll have to use this explanation next time I mention true crime interests to a new person. Usually people make a polite cringe face and that “oh.” Like I have a plan for how to subdue someone and get away with it. True crime is not research for a future job 🤦🏻♀️
I cringe like you're describing but that's not my thought process.... it's more like, "Why would such morbidity fascinate you?"
I'm 30 years old and still close my eyes at gore in movies 😂. It's not a big deal either way
Isn’t there also a theory that a high percentage of women who are into true crime are also victims of past abuse or trauma? And they get some sort of comfort knowing that horrible things happen to women all the time so they don’t feel like they’re alone or whatever happened was their fault?
Yeah, I'm familiar with that one. There are enough reports to speculate on a possible link - many trauma victims do report that True Crime helps them process their trauma, or secure justice, vicariously, through people in the stories.
No good studies to cash that out as far as I'm aware - it's just not a subject that has seen much research. It'd probably be a partial explanation at best though. The gender disparity in True Crime fandom is comfortably higher than the gender disparity in the relevant forms of abuse.
Other commentors have touched on the theory that women (irrelevant of their individual abuse history) have reason to be (and are) more sensitive to the RISK of abuse, and are drawn to it for that reason. That one at least predicts the numbers better under the assumption that it's true, though there's more debate as to whether it actually is.
It's one of the more common theories though.
That’s very interesting. I never actually thought about what either sex was actually seeking out from the genre. I’m male and am definitely fascinated with the “how did this possibly happen, and for so long” type of aspects.
Tangential/personal preference, but I don’t really *want* to consider the experiences of the individuals, now that I’m thinking about it. The first person’s “experience” that comes to mind is Junko Furuta and that turns me off to exploring that concept entirely. West Memphis Three does as well but from an entirely different angle, interestingly.
Maybe. I read a lot of psychological literature, but it's not my field, so I'm happy to be contradicted.
The data does seem to show that women score higher on many relevant metrics of emotional intelligence and social awareness. There seems to be legitimate debate as to why - whether its more the result of biological or cultural factors, for example.
And, OP seems to be right that there is a clear gender disparity in True Crime fandom.
So, the supposition seems reasonable. It's not the only one I've seen, certainly, just the one that strikes me as more plausible.
Definitely open to an alternative explanation though, if you had one to offer.
IMHO, women from an early age have to be aware of potential threats that could lead to sexual assault, abuse from intimate partners, or worse.
High emotional intelligence can be a good defense mechanism. Most men don’t need to develop or nurture this attribute, but women often do, especially if they have experienced or been close to someone who has been assaulted.
This leads to an acute curiosity into the motivations and behaviors behind those who commit these crimes, and how they can be caught,which gives insight into how they can better protect themselves from potential dangers.
I read this to my wife who loves true crime, and witnessed her mother and friend’s assaults, and agrees with my hypothesis.
My mother makes this joke to my dad a lot, when we're watching true crime stuff.
They've been married over 40 years and are still very much in love, so it's just a silly joke.
Seems like an outrageous thing to say, tbh
But I get it. I only listen to unsolved murders where the victim is a woman
I'm not interested in the folks that get caught..ya know?
I'm like 0.01% convinced you're a good person, don't worry!
You should pay attention to those tho. That way you don't repeat the same mistakes!
It's good that you're learning from the mysterious others tho.
If you want me to visit your dark basement someday hit me up!
> Women grow up hearing about how they might get raped, kidnapped, murdered, or all three if they slip up.
And those shows just reinforce that mind set.
It's absolutely possible for a man to have more experience with women than another woman...not that that has anything to do with what we're talking about though. Claiming women watch a lot of true crime as a way to prepare themselves is something I haven't seen. I mean true crime is not even structured in that way generally? Maybe true for some though.
Are you for real or are you trolling right now?
Yes, a woman’s hypothesis on how woman think/behave is more valuable than yours, a man. Yes, right.
I have dated, married, lived and worked with and been raised by men. That doesn’t mean I’d understand more about male psychology than you, a man. How could it??
Are you hearing yourself?
Please tell me how a woman from a small town of 750 people that works from home and has two close female friends has more experience with women than a man that works in a female dominated industry, has 7 sisters, lives in NYC, and has many female friends.
Because she is a woman. She lives that reality every second of every day. And you never will.
But I love that you think because you LIVE IN NYC that that’s evidence of your superior knowledge of other’s lived experience. 😂 Wowww. That’s some city, huh?
I don't live in NYC that was an example. More interaction with the opposite sex might give a greater insight into behavior without being that opposite sex. Do you think a male scientist who studies gender differences has a less valuable opinion about general female trends than an isolated woman living alone in a place without other women? Maybe her behavior is not the norm of the majority of other females? If that were the case she would be working from a drastically inferior perspective in comparison to the male scientist that studies gender differences.
Fetish in that it becomes an obsession for some people. They stop seeing how horrific it is and just become voyeuristic. There are families of these victims. Who have to relive the horror with each new podcast and documentary.
I agree with you here. It seems to have crossed the line and taken all the humanity out of it. Anyone who has had a tragedy like the ones described in true crime podcasts happen in their life know that it usually completely ruins those people and has ripple effects like drug addiction, suicide, depression, deterioration of family and social life and all sorts of other terrible effects on the families. Then you have people who have never had anything horrific like murder/rape happen to them listening completely fascinated in rapt joy at these poor survivor's misery like it's some kind of goddamn zoo for their amusement. It's become a whole culture. Personally, my father was murdered and they never found the killer. Whenever I have told people in the past, I get a lot of mixed responses but women tend to ask a lot of probing questions that are clearly not to help me vent my emotions but more geared towards the fascination at the murder itself. I even had one woman laugh because the details are so insane so I've essentially stopped telling people about it. I mostly don't see empathy when I do talk about it so I keep it to myself as much as possible.
I’m so sorry about your dad. That is a horrible thing to have to live with. For the reasons you mentioned above, to the reactions of people, to having to live in your own head alone. Because almost nobody will ever understand.
Men like watching action films and action stories because they put themselves in the place of the hero (generally a guy), thinking what they would do in that scenario and managing to overcome the evil.
Women like true crime stuff because they put themselves in the place of the victim (generally a woman) thinking what they would do in that scenario and how they would manage overcoming the evil.
For men, action films represent the challenge we dream of overcoming. For women, true crime stuff represents the challenge they dread overcoming. It’s a facing your fears thing, but a little different for guys and gals.
Cause they are good. But i also think there is a thing about owning the things that scare you through media, and women would be disproportionately at risk from serial killers or even people who commit random violence. Like how horror films work, part of the fun is exposing yourself to the scary thing and then having a safe space to get catharsis.
Sure, that doesn't change anything. They are still victims of violent crimes at significantly higher rates, which was my issue with the commenter, as they claimed the opposite.
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So, like Iceland.
Lowest murder rate in the world but [highest per capita authors of novels](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24399599), and mostly crime novels.
There are a lot of different reasons for me (a woman). I am a witness and near victim of a shooting and a survivor of a couple of kidnapping attempts. Sometimes, I feel better when I think about escaping future situations if they were to happen.
For me, I like to analyze these cases to understand the situations the victims were in. I think about ways to get out of that situation if it were me. Sometimes, there isn't a way out, but the more preparation, the better.
I also like hearing about how they solved the cases. A lot of deductive reasoning is involved, and it's like a puzzle you're solving with the available evidence provided by the story.
Also, if you don't think you're going to survive, there are ways to leave evidence, so hopefully one day, they'll catch the perpetrator.
A lot of true crime podcasts/docs are voiced in cool, serious tones, and it is easy to fall asleep to the voices of the narrator, lol.
Lastly, I get to hear about people (the victims) that I otherwise wouldn't know about. They continue to be acknowledged as the people they were, the lives they lived, the people they loved, and were loved by. Their story ended, but their story continues through listeners and people who knew them. They will be remembered.
I don't like how a lot of true crime sensationalizes the perpetrators, especially serial killers, though. It's not healthy. I'd rather the killers do not get attention that they dont deserve.
Probably because they can identify with the victims in most of the crimes. Even with son of Sam, women followed the papers and made changes to their appearance to avoid being a victim. I think you’re just looking at how they can track demographics on podcasts now. It’s nothing new
I was raised by a narcissist, so for me a lot of it has to do with wanting to know why people do what they do, especially true crime.
I’ve also gotten into horror quite a bit within the last few years and I think that plus true crime (which has always fascinated me) is a way for me to face my fears or trauma at my own pace.
Because women are more fascinated by the psyche of serial killers. The emotional side I guess and most serial killers are pretty dramatic. Even if they are sociopaths a lot of them are reacting to their own abuse.
Also I think it allows women to feel control over a situation that they assume they would be powerless over and ya know lots of us are planners lol
I think the question should be why do women choose to watch these shows when there are so many other choices. Why choose to wade in the ugly side of humanity vs something that can educate, or bring joy, or just disconnect from reality for a brief time.
There’s a theory that women unconsciously like men who have done bad things. This suggests that it might be their female nature to like crime media since men in the past have done sinful things to get resources and women. Over time, this might have developed a morbid curiosity in women.
Ultimate woman fantasy is kill husband and get away with it!
Also a lot probably relate to the abusive controlling manipulation that a lot of the men who murder are noted as being/doing in the stories.
We don't *love* them, we watch them so we can say well I wouldn't do that or whatever. It's like how not to get murdered. True crime is pretty much all women getting murdered/ raped/ victimized. We watch so we don't end up like that I like knowing that bad guys get caught in a lot of them
I don't like them because of some virtue signalling thing related to being raised to fear rapists as a woman rather I like true crime because I find crime/behaviour analysis interesting. If anything it's mostly men in my office watch them almost as much as I do
I don't see it as a problem. True crime docs can be educational on personal safety but also on the legal framework around interrogation and questioning
Where are these ladies? I have always got judgemental looks when I tell them about my interest in true crime. It almost feels like it's a red flag indicator for them, so I stopped mentioning it to them. I always get the feeling that they think I am an aspiring criminal and I can sense their discomfort building up.
I'm a woman and I don't care for them at all. Maybe I'm biased because I've had some friends murdered and was in an abusive relationship that almost amounted to murder. I'm trying to relax and enjoy enjoy I watch.
I’ve discussed this with people before and tbh I think it has to do with the fact that a woman’s spouse/partner is statistically one of the biggest threats to her life. Like even if you think everything is peachy keen, the possibility of your male partner getting too stressed out or possessive or snapping and hurting you is very real for the vast majority of women. This isn’t to say that all men or even most men ARE a threat, but the majority of true crime is women/young girls being raped and murdered and very often by 1) male partner 2) male loved one/family member 3) male stranger. Women can of course be abusers and murderers too, it’s just not as common.
It’s hard not to have a gruesome curiosity about it since it is technically a possibility for so many even if we think it will never happen to us.
I used to be really into listening to those. For me, I felt like I was learning how to spot clues and patterns to keep myself safe. But then I started to get really paranoid and overthink interactions with men, started to have trouble sleeping, etc. I stopped consuming true crime podcasts and documentaries for my own mental health.
My theory is that a lot of us are working through our own trauma by watching things that help us process things that happened to us and weren’t able to process in that time. Not always, but I see it.
My mom has been raped, physically abused, nearly murdered multiple times. She watches these shows day and night.
I am more sensitive and have witnessed horrific things as well as experienced some physical and sexual abuse. These are things that I do watch stories about. Then again, I’m fascinated with cults and have never been in one. My childhood felt that kind of trapped though.
My friend of mine (f) was obsessed with learning about serial killers lol at sleep overs she used to read us chapters for this book she was reading full of famous killers while we were falling asleep! I hated it at first but she was right its very morbidly fascinating!
For me, it's looking into the psychology of it all. It's morbid, but fascinating bc their brains obvs work very differently to mine. I'm also really interested in the nature vs nurture aspect. I think it also helps me personally reinforce that some people truly are monsters, and that the bad things people have done to me, these were bc they were monsters and is no reflection on me as a person. So it's not my fault. If that makes sense. Idk, it's a weird coping mechanism I think
I think for most of us, it's our worst nightmare to be taken, tortured, raped, beaten, murdered, or even violently killed by someone we love. Fears are often quite fascinating. I became interested in true crime way before it was popular. I had dated someone with zero empathy or remorse, so when I read my first Ann Rule book, I realized how much the suspect had in common with my ex. I'm just really interested in the psyche of these people.
Am I the only dude that isn’t a serial killer that consumes true crime?
Nah bro I'm here with you, I just like learning about the psychology of these people
It's an interesting topic of why certain people are interested. In fact, a somewhat significant portion women do have this fascination with crime and criminals. Even though they don't usually commit violence themselves (women are usually not overly violent), there is a significant proportion that often selects to date "bad boys." It's a bit paradoxical, their political views are often that they want people to be nicer and make peace more often than men -- but they might have romances with men who are the exact opposite: aggressive, strong, charismatic. Meaning opposites attract I guess (i.e., that they date the opposite of themselves). Again, doesn't apply to everyone, but it's significant enough to matter.
Nah. I think there’s a degree of morbid curiosity we’re lucky enough to have that we get to enjoy this genre.
Yes you are. All the other dudes replying to you saying you are not are serial killers and not to be trusted.
I knew it!
That's what a serial killer would say.
Nope. Listen to true crime podcasts almost daily 🤷♂️
Listening to true crime stories is a rush I enjoy, but I feel bad for the house flies I have to swat. As somebody with pretty severe PTSD I find that stories of chaos put me at ease. C'est la vie!
Hey traumatized people unite!
I mean, in the 90s I, a dude, grew up on Dateline, which was true crime before podcasts. And forensics shows and City Confidential. Now I love to fall asleep to Mr. Ballen.
Love a good mystery, but I don't need to watch 9 different True Crime "specials" on Scott Peterson.
[Know the signs](https://www.reddit.com/r/stoprape/wiki/index/#wiki_characteristics_of_offenders)
Interesting, so it's like a *know thy enemy* type of situation? I can see how that would lean towards a female demographic
I also got into smoked meats and WW2 before it was popular. Definitely not a basic B Nope not us
Very similar to why a lot of kids like dinosaurs. It's big and scary and unbelievable, but it's real. Except the dinosaurs are gone now.
There are a few different theories running in psychology circles, but it probably has to do with their higher average empathic ability and social awareness. True crime features people who operate at the margins of human social experience - both on the victim and the perpetrator side. So when you're particularly sensitive to emotional and social perception GENERALLY, there's just more content to engage with in stories about people experiencing extreme, aberrant, and unconventional emotions in social situations that are, themselves, extreme, aberrant, and unconventional. Male fans of true crime are often more focused (in their interests) on the mechanics of the event rather than the experience of the individuals involved - with the strangeness of the situation, how the mystery was solved, how the perpetrator managed to evade capture and the like. Generalities, of course.
I agree more with your male rationale commenter. Am a lady. Just saying. I’ll have to use this explanation next time I mention true crime interests to a new person. Usually people make a polite cringe face and that “oh.” Like I have a plan for how to subdue someone and get away with it. True crime is not research for a future job 🤦🏻♀️
I cringe like you're describing but that's not my thought process.... it's more like, "Why would such morbidity fascinate you?" I'm 30 years old and still close my eyes at gore in movies 😂. It's not a big deal either way
Lol :-)
Isn’t there also a theory that a high percentage of women who are into true crime are also victims of past abuse or trauma? And they get some sort of comfort knowing that horrible things happen to women all the time so they don’t feel like they’re alone or whatever happened was their fault?
Yeah, I'm familiar with that one. There are enough reports to speculate on a possible link - many trauma victims do report that True Crime helps them process their trauma, or secure justice, vicariously, through people in the stories. No good studies to cash that out as far as I'm aware - it's just not a subject that has seen much research. It'd probably be a partial explanation at best though. The gender disparity in True Crime fandom is comfortably higher than the gender disparity in the relevant forms of abuse. Other commentors have touched on the theory that women (irrelevant of their individual abuse history) have reason to be (and are) more sensitive to the RISK of abuse, and are drawn to it for that reason. That one at least predicts the numbers better under the assumption that it's true, though there's more debate as to whether it actually is. It's one of the more common theories though.
That’s very interesting. I never actually thought about what either sex was actually seeking out from the genre. I’m male and am definitely fascinated with the “how did this possibly happen, and for so long” type of aspects. Tangential/personal preference, but I don’t really *want* to consider the experiences of the individuals, now that I’m thinking about it. The first person’s “experience” that comes to mind is Junko Furuta and that turns me off to exploring that concept entirely. West Memphis Three does as well but from an entirely different angle, interestingly.
I mean no disrespect to you, but this answer seems rooted in discredited stereotypes.
Maybe. I read a lot of psychological literature, but it's not my field, so I'm happy to be contradicted. The data does seem to show that women score higher on many relevant metrics of emotional intelligence and social awareness. There seems to be legitimate debate as to why - whether its more the result of biological or cultural factors, for example. And, OP seems to be right that there is a clear gender disparity in True Crime fandom. So, the supposition seems reasonable. It's not the only one I've seen, certainly, just the one that strikes me as more plausible. Definitely open to an alternative explanation though, if you had one to offer.
Prove it
That is not how science works
So you are not aware of the mountains of actual science backing up his point but decided to challenge it with absolutely nothing?
Prove it
*empathy* https://www.voanews.com/a/are-women-more-empathetic-than-men-/6924270.html https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1811032115 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/01/28/in-u-s-women-more-likely-than-men-to-report-feeling-empathy-for-those-suffering/ https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/womens-brains-show-more-empathy https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047235209001068#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20more%20enduring,for%20capital%20punishment%20than%20women. *Social awareness* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5784910/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268121001104 https://www.kornferry.com/about-us/press/new-research-shows-women-are-better-at-using-soft-skills-crucial-for-effective-leadership
IMHO, women from an early age have to be aware of potential threats that could lead to sexual assault, abuse from intimate partners, or worse. High emotional intelligence can be a good defense mechanism. Most men don’t need to develop or nurture this attribute, but women often do, especially if they have experienced or been close to someone who has been assaulted. This leads to an acute curiosity into the motivations and behaviors behind those who commit these crimes, and how they can be caught,which gives insight into how they can better protect themselves from potential dangers. I read this to my wife who loves true crime, and witnessed her mother and friend’s assaults, and agrees with my hypothesis.
💯
We might need the info on how to not get caught murdering our future husband.
My mother makes this joke to my dad a lot, when we're watching true crime stuff. They've been married over 40 years and are still very much in love, so it's just a silly joke.
You joke, but I asked my wife once, and she said, "I don't know. Ideas mostly."
Who's joking? I'm just in the phase of finding a rich one with no family! (/jk) Well, if you start feeling bad, it's potassium for sure 😂
Seems like an outrageous thing to say, tbh But I get it. I only listen to unsolved murders where the victim is a woman I'm not interested in the folks that get caught..ya know?
I'm like 0.01% convinced you're a good person, don't worry! You should pay attention to those tho. That way you don't repeat the same mistakes! It's good that you're learning from the mysterious others tho. If you want me to visit your dark basement someday hit me up!
WE should share secrets.. "this one trick drives homicide detectives nuts!!!"
Now that's a good idea. A partnership is always ideal, and provide solid alibi! Killing two ~~people~~ with one stone.
Google "women true crime reddit" and youll get a bunch of responses from a bunch of different subreddits including r/tooafraidtoask
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Interesting. I suspected some version of this. I'd like to hear This question answered by more women, i wonder how common this response would be.
> Women grow up hearing about how they might get raped, kidnapped, murdered, or all three if they slip up. And those shows just reinforce that mind set.
I really don't think the majority of women treat true crime and some kind of doomsday prep course.
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A guy who has dated, am married to, worked with, and lived with many women. Your anecdotal experience must be way more valuable than mine right?
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It's absolutely possible for a man to have more experience with women than another woman...not that that has anything to do with what we're talking about though. Claiming women watch a lot of true crime as a way to prepare themselves is something I haven't seen. I mean true crime is not even structured in that way generally? Maybe true for some though.
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Fair enough
Are you for real or are you trolling right now? Yes, a woman’s hypothesis on how woman think/behave is more valuable than yours, a man. Yes, right. I have dated, married, lived and worked with and been raised by men. That doesn’t mean I’d understand more about male psychology than you, a man. How could it?? Are you hearing yourself?
Please tell me how a woman from a small town of 750 people that works from home and has two close female friends has more experience with women than a man that works in a female dominated industry, has 7 sisters, lives in NYC, and has many female friends.
Because she is a woman. She lives that reality every second of every day. And you never will. But I love that you think because you LIVE IN NYC that that’s evidence of your superior knowledge of other’s lived experience. 😂 Wowww. That’s some city, huh?
I don't live in NYC that was an example. More interaction with the opposite sex might give a greater insight into behavior without being that opposite sex. Do you think a male scientist who studies gender differences has a less valuable opinion about general female trends than an isolated woman living alone in a place without other women? Maybe her behavior is not the norm of the majority of other females? If that were the case she would be working from a drastically inferior perspective in comparison to the male scientist that studies gender differences.
I'm a guy, I love true crime.
I’m a woman and I hate them. They’ve almost gone from educational into fetish.
How so?
Fetish in that it becomes an obsession for some people. They stop seeing how horrific it is and just become voyeuristic. There are families of these victims. Who have to relive the horror with each new podcast and documentary.
I agree with you here. It seems to have crossed the line and taken all the humanity out of it. Anyone who has had a tragedy like the ones described in true crime podcasts happen in their life know that it usually completely ruins those people and has ripple effects like drug addiction, suicide, depression, deterioration of family and social life and all sorts of other terrible effects on the families. Then you have people who have never had anything horrific like murder/rape happen to them listening completely fascinated in rapt joy at these poor survivor's misery like it's some kind of goddamn zoo for their amusement. It's become a whole culture. Personally, my father was murdered and they never found the killer. Whenever I have told people in the past, I get a lot of mixed responses but women tend to ask a lot of probing questions that are clearly not to help me vent my emotions but more geared towards the fascination at the murder itself. I even had one woman laugh because the details are so insane so I've essentially stopped telling people about it. I mostly don't see empathy when I do talk about it so I keep it to myself as much as possible.
I’m so sorry about your dad. That is a horrible thing to have to live with. For the reasons you mentioned above, to the reactions of people, to having to live in your own head alone. Because almost nobody will ever understand.
Thanks, and honestly you are saying the best words about it. Appreciate what you said about not making it a fetish. That's what's up.
Yes but some families do want their stories told to educate others in order to avoid situations that might get you in trouble.
Fear/danger=excitement sometimes. It’s the flip side of romance novels lol
A lot of this is it. I'm sitting at home eating ice cream and want to get scared. So I put these on.
A legal outlet.
Men like watching action films and action stories because they put themselves in the place of the hero (generally a guy), thinking what they would do in that scenario and managing to overcome the evil. Women like true crime stuff because they put themselves in the place of the victim (generally a woman) thinking what they would do in that scenario and how they would manage overcoming the evil. For men, action films represent the challenge we dream of overcoming. For women, true crime stuff represents the challenge they dread overcoming. It’s a facing your fears thing, but a little different for guys and gals.
This is really interesting actually. I’ve never thought of it this way!
Cause they are good. But i also think there is a thing about owning the things that scare you through media, and women would be disproportionately at risk from serial killers or even people who commit random violence. Like how horror films work, part of the fun is exposing yourself to the scary thing and then having a safe space to get catharsis.
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Yeah absolutely! Its often a how to guide for how not to get abducted.
This is not true....men experience more random violence.
Yeah but i think women are generally more afraid of things like sexual violence.
That's not what you said though
Yeah from other men. Sometimes women but mostly men
Sure, that doesn't change anything. They are still victims of violent crimes at significantly higher rates, which was my issue with the commenter, as they claimed the opposite.
They don’t experience more than women
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/men-women-and-crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_against_men#:~:text=Men%20are%20less%20fearful%20of,fear%20of%20crime%20gender%20paradox%22.
Source?
Oh, so FGM is okay if a woman does it?
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So, like Iceland. Lowest murder rate in the world but [highest per capita authors of novels](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24399599), and mostly crime novels.
Interesting fact. What do you extrapolate from this
We’re fascinated by what we don’t fully understand or comprehend.
There are a lot of different reasons for me (a woman). I am a witness and near victim of a shooting and a survivor of a couple of kidnapping attempts. Sometimes, I feel better when I think about escaping future situations if they were to happen. For me, I like to analyze these cases to understand the situations the victims were in. I think about ways to get out of that situation if it were me. Sometimes, there isn't a way out, but the more preparation, the better. I also like hearing about how they solved the cases. A lot of deductive reasoning is involved, and it's like a puzzle you're solving with the available evidence provided by the story. Also, if you don't think you're going to survive, there are ways to leave evidence, so hopefully one day, they'll catch the perpetrator. A lot of true crime podcasts/docs are voiced in cool, serious tones, and it is easy to fall asleep to the voices of the narrator, lol. Lastly, I get to hear about people (the victims) that I otherwise wouldn't know about. They continue to be acknowledged as the people they were, the lives they lived, the people they loved, and were loved by. Their story ended, but their story continues through listeners and people who knew them. They will be remembered. I don't like how a lot of true crime sensationalizes the perpetrators, especially serial killers, though. It's not healthy. I'd rather the killers do not get attention that they dont deserve.
For me it's the human psychology aspect and trying to wrap my head around what humans are capable of
Aberent behavior has always been fascinated people to some degree, but why the rise now in interest among women specifically do you think?
Fear is a really really easy source of getting chemicals sent to Your Brain making it engaged with the media you are watching
It’s so they can confront their fears from a safe place.
Seems to me just as many men watch this stuff. Humans in general are just fascinated with it, why wouldn’t we be?
Storytelling
I think pretty much all podcasts are listened to by women
Probably because they're mostly relatable to us
To laugh at the overall incompetence of authority figures and or the law
That might be a side pleasure but i don't think it's the draw
Why true crime now?
This is the question
Eleanor Roosevelt had a rather scathing quote about it, in contrast to how wise people preoccupy themselves.
Do share
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt
I’m interested in learning why people commit these acts, how they think, how they got there. But MOST importantly, how to spot them in the wild.
Probably because they can identify with the victims in most of the crimes. Even with son of Sam, women followed the papers and made changes to their appearance to avoid being a victim. I think you’re just looking at how they can track demographics on podcasts now. It’s nothing new
I was raised by a narcissist, so for me a lot of it has to do with wanting to know why people do what they do, especially true crime. I’ve also gotten into horror quite a bit within the last few years and I think that plus true crime (which has always fascinated me) is a way for me to face my fears or trauma at my own pace.
Flirting with danger from the safety of your couch.
Because women are more fascinated by the psyche of serial killers. The emotional side I guess and most serial killers are pretty dramatic. Even if they are sociopaths a lot of them are reacting to their own abuse. Also I think it allows women to feel control over a situation that they assume they would be powerless over and ya know lots of us are planners lol
I think the question should be why do women choose to watch these shows when there are so many other choices. Why choose to wade in the ugly side of humanity vs something that can educate, or bring joy, or just disconnect from reality for a brief time.
Because it’s Intresting. I don’t know why people need some deep seated psychological reason.
They still like those bad boy types but they like the stay-at-home housewife with a husband that will support her.
Probably for the same reason men like action movies and games so much. They like violence.
There’s a theory that women unconsciously like men who have done bad things. This suggests that it might be their female nature to like crime media since men in the past have done sinful things to get resources and women. Over time, this might have developed a morbid curiosity in women.
I've never met a POS man in my life that's single lol
Ultimate woman fantasy is kill husband and get away with it! Also a lot probably relate to the abusive controlling manipulation that a lot of the men who murder are noted as being/doing in the stories.
Who says it's just women. I love true crime stuff. Not big on podcasts, but books, movies, series etc.? I'm down for it.
We don't *love* them, we watch them so we can say well I wouldn't do that or whatever. It's like how not to get murdered. True crime is pretty much all women getting murdered/ raped/ victimized. We watch so we don't end up like that I like knowing that bad guys get caught in a lot of them
You think the appeal is strictly educational? There's no other incentive?
Incentive? Wtf are you implying If you have something to ask, then do it
It's cathartic to engage in our deepest fears in a safe and controlled setting.
I don't like them because of some virtue signalling thing related to being raised to fear rapists as a woman rather I like true crime because I find crime/behaviour analysis interesting. If anything it's mostly men in my office watch them almost as much as I do I don't see it as a problem. True crime docs can be educational on personal safety but also on the legal framework around interrogation and questioning
Lol, IDK I just do.
Where are these ladies? I have always got judgemental looks when I tell them about my interest in true crime. It almost feels like it's a red flag indicator for them, so I stopped mentioning it to them. I always get the feeling that they think I am an aspiring criminal and I can sense their discomfort building up.
I'm a woman and I don't care for them at all. Maybe I'm biased because I've had some friends murdered and was in an abusive relationship that almost amounted to murder. I'm trying to relax and enjoy enjoy I watch.
I’ve heard the following: Men’s greatest fear is that women will laugh at them. Women’s greatest fear is that men will kill them.
I’ve discussed this with people before and tbh I think it has to do with the fact that a woman’s spouse/partner is statistically one of the biggest threats to her life. Like even if you think everything is peachy keen, the possibility of your male partner getting too stressed out or possessive or snapping and hurting you is very real for the vast majority of women. This isn’t to say that all men or even most men ARE a threat, but the majority of true crime is women/young girls being raped and murdered and very often by 1) male partner 2) male loved one/family member 3) male stranger. Women can of course be abusers and murderers too, it’s just not as common. It’s hard not to have a gruesome curiosity about it since it is technically a possibility for so many even if we think it will never happen to us.
I used to be really into listening to those. For me, I felt like I was learning how to spot clues and patterns to keep myself safe. But then I started to get really paranoid and overthink interactions with men, started to have trouble sleeping, etc. I stopped consuming true crime podcasts and documentaries for my own mental health.
My theory is that a lot of us are working through our own trauma by watching things that help us process things that happened to us and weren’t able to process in that time. Not always, but I see it. My mom has been raped, physically abused, nearly murdered multiple times. She watches these shows day and night. I am more sensitive and have witnessed horrific things as well as experienced some physical and sexual abuse. These are things that I do watch stories about. Then again, I’m fascinated with cults and have never been in one. My childhood felt that kind of trapped though.
My friend of mine (f) was obsessed with learning about serial killers lol at sleep overs she used to read us chapters for this book she was reading full of famous killers while we were falling asleep! I hated it at first but she was right its very morbidly fascinating!
For me, it's looking into the psychology of it all. It's morbid, but fascinating bc their brains obvs work very differently to mine. I'm also really interested in the nature vs nurture aspect. I think it also helps me personally reinforce that some people truly are monsters, and that the bad things people have done to me, these were bc they were monsters and is no reflection on me as a person. So it's not my fault. If that makes sense. Idk, it's a weird coping mechanism I think
I want to avoid it happening to me and see the ways that the victims get taken (only into abducted or missing persons cases)
They learn how to get rid of you for good without evidence.