why do men kill?

Question

i have asked another question on this but some answers have given me food for thought...please read the other question for details...its not too long winded,lol...

i am inetrested in why men go over that edge...particularly in relation to serial killings,spree killings than women...and im wondering something in particular...

do you think men are more capable because they are able to emotionally detatch more than women...or because emotionally they actually feel more than women deep down and are less capable of rationalising their emotions???

or maybe you just think its because they have less control over themselves...i dont know but the emotion thing is interesting...

c.j...i am asking particularly in relation to spree/serial killers...and there are very few women who kill repeatedly...

mentor...no offense...but...a bit bog standard...nothing i havent read in the papers...i dont neccessaily agree about it being about power over the victim either...very often its empowering their own powerlessness... and their emotions...and nothing to do with having power over the victim...sometimes nothing to do with power at all...some dont even feel their own power but instead get sickened even by themselves???...its the emotional thing im really interested in hearing about ...

stargazer...i think women are as inclined as men to act without hesitation or thought...maternal instinct and all that...funny you mention the Geeks though as they were pretty much responsible for making society as patriarchal as it is ...most faith was goddess orientated before...women had equal if not superior status in some places before this...women were warriors once too...;0)

kd...i like your answer and yes it is partly down to chemicals,hormones and so forth...but if you take that solely for itself then all men would kill in this way...and that doesnt happen...there has to be a contributing emotional factor that causes these chemical/hormonal reactions to surge...and commit the acts...so with that in min im asking are men more emotionally attatched...or are they able to detatch...???...thanks...;0)

stone k...i think you misunderstand me...im not saying women arent violent or that they dont have the capability to be...i am asking this particularly in relation to the issue of serial killings and though you cite a few good examples...if you cited as many men as were in Queen Elizabeths position of power their murderous deeds would far outweigh any womans...serial killers are almost exclusively men...and im wondering why...because women have that same capacity to be violent...;0)

Answer 1

The reason anyone kills,this applies to both men and women is all about the feeling of power,particularly when it comes to serial killers.
There is usually something that has happened in their past that triggers psychotic feelings and when men go on a killing spree against women the reasons (in their minds) is revenge or,in some cases justice but,also there is a feeling of control over someone and,the power to make a decision over life and death.
In relation to the latest deaths here in the UK the killer,probably feels that he has been ripped off or could be a religious nut who just hates prostitutes.

Answer 2

There are a lot of emotional answers but not much logic. The reason why it is predominately men who become serial killers and commit murder, mass or otherwise is the higher amounts of testosterone they have in their bodies compare to women.
This hormone is one of the strongest hormones within the body. Men have more of it than women. Yes, women do have small amounts and some more than others, and is the main hormone responsible for the human sex drive. Testosterone is the hormone that is mainly responsible for a, pardon this expression but it was coined by a MALE biologist, "f*ck it or kill it" attitude.
There was a book written about 7 or 8 years ago by the same biologist who did extensive research on the hormone. I can't remember the name of the biologist or the title even - I have a habit of reading books, then passing them along.
The study was quite startling but also gave an understanding without the emotional rhetoric of why some people do the things they do.
I'll see if I can dig up the title of the book and get back to you.
It's not a "right or wrong" or "us against them" question, it's very simple a matter of the chemicals we have in us.
Incidentally, that time of the month referred to as PMT or PMS is the time when women's female hormones lower and their predominately male hormones are higher. In other words, men who make jokes and get upset because women have PMT are really getting upset because those women are behaving like men!

In response: There is no way to generalise every single man and every single woman. There will always be men who are kind, sensitive and gentle and women who may be deemed "aggressive" but the bottom line is, there's no way of painting everyone with the same brush. The science boils down to chemicals. Now, say, if a man has high testosterone levels and he lives in a supportive environment and grows up to be a caring person without an ounce of violent tendencies, you still don't have proof to support a claim of detachment if the same man turns out to be a killer.
This could be linked with studies in to autism and the general detachment that most autistic people feel. Yet again, it doesn't explain completely.
There is no way of assessing whether every single man is detached and every single woman isn't detached.
I think that is great because I wouldn't want to believe that every single woman is a touchy-feely, sweet, kind caring soul and every single man is a potential murderer.
The higher levels of testosterone can account for there being MORE cases of violence from men than women and that has nothing to do with how detached a person feels.
I think that you are looking for a perfect answer to say "women are better and more in control of their emotions or that men don't respond to theirs". You won't find it. You can only go by the evidence.
And in the case of women being violent. Yes, there are cases of women being violent but the bottom line is there are still more men than women and it is best to look at facts and statistics than be clouded by emotion.

Answer 3

I often wonder if it has anything to do with our DNA. If it were the case, it would be an awesome step in DNA research. If we could find a way to lessen our aggression then maybe we would be less prone physical violence. I don't believe it is just men who have the aggression. Maybe it seems that way because most violent attacks against another human being are done by men. It may also seem that way because most powerful positions in the world are held by men. I'm not saying there's any truth to this but it's a thought.

Answer 4

You could be right on the emotional thing.
Theres always been this myth about 'women being more in touch with their emotions' and men not being in touch with theres.
I actually think there is very little difference between the two sexes, except for the fact that men tend go to the more extremes ( in good and bad ), than do women .
I would even argue that Men are actually much more in touch woith their emotions than women are, which is why they may need to keep them surpressed , so they can function normally in society.

The physical strength is also a relevant aspect sometimes,
I mean literally one puinch could kill someone

Answer 5

I read a fantastic book that goes someway to answering your question, but I can't tell you all the details, obviously would take hours. It is called The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton, who is a forensic psychologist. He helped the police when they were investigating the Rachel Nickell murder, Stephanie Slater kidnapping and other really high profile cases. I really enjoyed the book and was amazed at what info was included. Would suggest you give it a read, it would give you better answers than anyone on Yahoo Answers could. (Try E-Bay for a cheap copy).

Answer 6

There are different reasons, many of which we will never know the real answer. If there was one quick solution, we wouldn't need profilers and we could develop a cure. To tell you the truth, I have no idea why more men kill than women or whether they have less control or if it is a chemical imbalance that they have no control over. For me, it is too unrealistic to think of killing someone so it's beyond my grasp why people do.

Answer 7

A few thoeries as usual ... but its nothing to do with control ... I think men have more control than women ... being physically stronger we have had to.

you know i make this up as i go along .. so they may be wrong

One reason is because they are men .. ''being a man'' has a certain connotation that does not allow for men to back down or back away from a situation/challenge where their pride or is hurt or their dignity (as they see it) is at stake

Its like ...if there was conscription ... you would not be a man if you did not go to war ...

..and if another male insults/abuses your lady ... you have to confront him .. even if he kills you ...

I think if pride is hurt badly enough (by another person ...man or woman) some men are capable of killing ...

...Just needs something to push them over the edge ... like a woman ...

I think men kill each other more than they kill women .. im not sure women can say the same .. thats something to think about

Society has mixed messages with regards to violence ..

I don't think that you are going to find one particular reason ...


but .. for evrything else ..

Answer 8

It is basically down to evolution. You need to read a book called "Why Men Lie and Why Women Cry" by Allan and Barbara Pease.

Men and women have evolved different brain structures. Men have a predisposition towards hunting and killing-based skills, whereas women have a predisposition towards social skills. Couple this with a man's comparatively higher levels of testosterone compared to a woman, and you have the perfect recipe for an animal that is prediposed to kill.

People may say that men should be able to control their testosterone, but it's like saying women should be able to control their PMS (and some women in the US have got away with murder by pleading that their PMS made them do it). Compare, for example, the placid behaviour of a eunuch compared to a body-builder who injects steroids and you will understand what a powerful behaviour modifier male hormones are.

So you see, although we would like to believe that men and women are the same, the reality is that political correctness has nothing to do with factual correctness.

Answer 9

i believe men have a burning desire to be the best at things. some men, like me, find that they are absolutely uselss at most things people take for granted and it does cross the mind that you might find ur better at taking someone elses life. men are also naturally sneaky indivduals, women love to gossip but men are happy when they know something noone else knows. we are also quicker at accepting the ugliness of life, women are generally more sympathetic towards things that dont really concern them while at the same time they constantly worry and moan about their own appearance. murder has occured everywhere in nature and history since the dawn of time, it is too simplistic to try and narrow it down to men and women.

the other major factor is sexual tension.. the way the media portays pornography is so contradictory and hypocritical. for example, the sun yesterday (and most days) : page 3: hi guys heres a half naked woman, we have taken a picture of her so that it looks like shes looking at you and wants you, but u cant have her, sorry..today page 3: a story on how sick this new serial killer is for murdering prostitutes, but its ok because if you turn to the centre pages u can have all the boobs u want. so, morally, we are prepared to give up our page 3 girl for a day to cover this story beacuse we can simply put loads of them in the centre pages. its the same when they run a story lamenting how a 'young girls life has been ruined by anorexia' then u turn the page to a headline calling charlotte church a fat cow.
what drives these killers is the publicity they get. how about just reporting a story rather than trying to come up with the best name or the best way to describe what he is doing, is it not bad enough that he is killing, if he is caught he will go to prison with the nomenclature 'Suffolk Ripper' and he will think he is special and he can rely on his name as a label., why not just say, there is a man(or woman) who is killing people, then they would go to prison as simply a murderer.

Answer 10

1. Because men are trained to 'do something active', be active, act, take action, rather than think, ponder, deliberate, decide, sit quietly. . .
2. I think it's the masculine -energy- in people, men and women, that cause something like the 'blind rage' sometimes attributed as being the cause of a murder.
3. Historically, men aren't given time to think things through, they must act now, the baby is hungry, the wife is hungry, need food now, go hunt etc
4. To hunt you have to emotionally detach
5. Men are denied their emotions since Ancient Greece, where Roman invasion homosexualized all male affection for other men; the lack of healthy emotion manifests in outbursts of frustration over the societal inappropriateness of male affection, complicating the denied emotion by entangling it with the sex drive since the men who begin to seek this affection will most likely only find it in homosexual relationships

Now women are beginning to lose their emotional friendships due to competition for mates and jobs-and these typically masculine, testosterone-related negative emotions assoc. with murder are becoming more prevalent in women as well, though it seems in women this agression is more often self-inflicted . .