Making a murderer

The importance of gender and violence against women in mass murder events

Bibliographic Data

ID12912466
AuthorsAlison J Marganski (0000-0003-3440-6394, Le Moyne College, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume13
Issue9
Publication date2019-08-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-9020 • E-ISSN: 1751-9020
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/soc4.12730
OpenAlexW2967921568
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited28

This article examines sex, gender, and gender violence (e.g., dating/domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking) as related to mass murder events. Specifically, the paper explores (a) sex/gender and mass murder and (b) violence against women prior to and directly associated with mass murder events. A multidimensional framework guided by critical feminist thought is presented to offer a nuanced approach to understanding offending. The paper argues that mass murder, a gendered phenomenon, is a way by which some individuals “do gender,” an expression of aggrieved entitlement and representation of toxic masculinity resulting from the collision of individual, relational, community, and cultural forces that impact perpetrator attitudes, decisions, and behavior. The paper advances knowledge by drawing attention to men's violence against women preceding mass murder events, one of the most common yet overlooked risk factors. Other gendered aspects are also discussed. In all, findings suggest that sexist beliefs/norms stemming from gender role expectations in patriarchal cultures are reinforced by male peer support and institutional failures that fuel violence against women and mass murder events. Thus, if we are to tackle the issue of mass murder, we need to take the lived experiences of women and girls more seriously and work on gendered‐oriented and gender‐informed solutions

Criminology · Entitlement (fair division · Homicide · Masculinity · Medical emergency · Poison control · Sociology · Stalking · Suicide prevention · Gender Studies · Gun Ownership and Violence Research · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses

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