Social Construction of Female Serial Killers

• In Event: Media and Public Perception of Serial Killers and Criminal Investigative Profiling

Abstract

Serial killers continue to fascinate the American public in the 21st century. Popular culture representation of serial killers – in movies, television shows, and novels – has remained high despite the fact that serial killing accounts for a very small percentage of reported homicides in the United States. Curiously, female serial killers have not gained the level of attention given to their male counterparts. Likewise, there appears to be a marked difference in the way female and male serial killers are portrayed in popular culture. Using a qualitative approach, this study will examine these differences and explain why such differences exist in popular culture representations of female and male serial killers.

Author

• Jacqueline R. Gonzales, Sonoma State University