I remember being a little girl in the 90s and watching the science fiction series, The X-Files with my dad until late at night. I probably had actually no idea what was going on in the plot, but there was something about the suspense of the show, the aura of mystery, or darkness, and of course, the aspect of solving a crime that stuck with me. And even though I had no idea what the plot was actually about, I was hooked. So many women are enticed and entranced by the thrill of murder stories, crime, and mystery. Whether it be the series they watch on the weekend, an article they read, or a podcast they listen to to lull them to sleep, women are drawn to many aspects of true crime.
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So what is it about true crime and murder mysteries that entice women specifically? Female intuition and instinct, empathy, and risk awareness are just a few of the reasons people hypothesize why women seek the thrill of a crime story while staying safe in the comfort of their home. Women are at the forefront of being victims of assault or crime, which makes women hyperaware of how to avoid these kinds of situations. Not only are women in more danger and have to be cautious to protect themselves, but in many cases their stories aren’t believed to be true. True crime, however, gives women a voice and the opportunity for female victims to share their story—whether they’ve already passed or survived. The allure of true crime for women is that it encourages developing a sense of survival skills without being put in the situation itself. It also helps the audience connect with the women who had to suffer at the expense of a psychopath. We unwittingly heighten our awareness, while simultaneously being entertained.
Let’s dissect why women are drawn to this kind of darkness:
Keep in mind it’s not horror movies or slasher films we’re talking about. It’s about real life stories, the nitty gritty of human nature, as opposed to fiction. There’s the element of being able to study the psychology of both the perpetrator and the perpetrated in these kinds of stories. To delve into the mind of someone else is already a step in the right direction towards gaining the ability to see red flags and cues of potential danger. As women, we have natural instincts to protect ourselves.
Based on studies, women have innate instincts of protection, such as the urge to run another direction when someone comes near us or being able to watch an assimilation of a dangerous situation and preserve protective skills from it. Some people unfortunately learn the hard way how to protect themselves or what danger looks like. But with the ease of true crime media, women don’t have to experience it firsthand. They can develop their own sense of security, control, autonomy, and protective instincts in the comfort of their own bed.
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In the age of psychological diagnosis for all of our exes and the popularity of “therapy speech,” the psychology behind motives and behaviors of the perpetrators are fascinating to lots of people, namely women. A psychopath has behavioral patterns, as does a narcissist, a sociopath, or a DARVO person, which stands for “deny, attack, reverse victim, and offender.” Awareness of these personality disorders are becoming increasingly codified into our everyday vernacular, which is also consistent with the popularity of true crime. Why would someone want to go on a killing spree, have the urge to lethally torture someone, and/or do unimaginable things with their postmortem body? It’s just these sorts of documentaries and podcasts that give us some insight into knowing why and let us understand how someone could commit such unforgivable acts.
Podcasts are also a popular tool to hear true crime stories. They are special because listeners get to use their own imagination to create the situation being explained. Perhaps women are drawn to listening to true crime as they can lull themselves to sleep to their own version of these stories, with their own world, and can omit the things they don’t want to see. In a documentary, the visual aspect can be jarring, grotesque, or uncomfortable to watch. There may be reenactment scenes that you don’t want to witness—in a podcast, you have more control over what you actually envision.
Based on forums online, empathy is another reason women are drawn to true crime stories—and don’t get it confused with the killer, rather they empathize with the victim. There’s comfort in knowing what not to do in situations that could cost someone their life. Obviously, never victim blaming, because that’s never their fault! The empathy that a woman can feel while listening to a true crime podcast or watching a documentary is a mournful one, while also noting the dangers of the perpetrator. There’s still a fascination behind the perpetrator’s psychology because it’s so far removed from what the listener would ever do (which goes back to the desire to delve into the psychology of other people who suffer from disorders that cause them to commit these crimes).
So, the underlying reason women are interested in true crime more than men comes down to this: Our innate desire to increase our vigilance, decrease our chances of being victimized to someone’s depreciating and dastardly psychology, the fascination with psychology of psychopaths, and our ingrained need to empathize with other women in their struggles and horrors. It’s not only a unique and interesting vessel of entertainment, it’s also actually a practical survival skill that gives us autonomy and power in the world.
So next time you’re drifting off to sleep with the details of a disturbing murder case, remember that these stories actually help us as women and that it’s equally as important to remember the women whose lives were lost far too early. By listening to the podcasts and learning from them, it’s an homage to them, and it’s a way for women to have each other’s backs, to honor each other and try to protect not only ourselves but other women as well.
