# Why are pretty much all mass shooters male? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2020, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501 "2020-01-16T10:16:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/21 "2020-01-16T22:39:26Z")
Here in NC we had the rare case of a woman getting put to death for murder. That was in 1984 and there are still 3 women on NC death row but they haven’t executed anyone since 2006. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/22 "2020-01-16T22:48:26Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I suspect many mass shooters have a gun fetish where they subconsciously equate the weapon as an extension of the male organ. Few women, even those prone to violence, are likely to relate to such a conflation. I’ve read this view before but it sounds like Freudian everything-is-a-penis logic. Men also likely lead the world in mass stabbings, bombings, serial stranglings - all kinds of murder tools that have no resemblance to a dick. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/23 "2020-01-16T23:36:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **[Moderating]** > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by Ají de Gallina View Post > > How do you define male? > > Are you implying that men and women are different? > > If this post has any purpose other than trolling, I’m unable to see what it would be. This is an official Warning. I thought the post was thought-provoking. The very definition of gender and our understanding of it has been changing as of late. It is interesting to think about the OP from that perspective: what \*is \*male (or female) anyway? If it is no longer a simple binary then where does that leave us vis-a-vis the OP? The post in question struck me as pithily deep, not as trolling. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/24 "2020-01-17T00:09:48Z")
Well if we’re going to bring trans-people into the discussion, many years ago the public radio show _This American Life_ interviewed a trans-man about his experiences taking testosterone. From what I remember this person did say that in his experience he became more aggressive after he started taking T (as he referred to it in the interview). At least that’s what I remember; it appears This American Life’s website is blocked at work so I can’t go back and read the transcript. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/25 "2020-01-17T00:28:01Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > This specific point, athletics, may incorporate some selection bias. > > Women are actually superior to men in some kinds of long-term endurance, as well as generally having a lower center of mass (important in some things like judo), and there are probably other traits at which they exceed men. We just don’t have nearly as many recognized athletic pursuits that depend on the traits women are better at. Whether that’s because of the patriarchy making the rules, or simply that long-endurance, low-center-of-mass activities make poorer spectator sports, I don’t know. Thats a fair point, perhaps as a society we select sports that men are better at to be our mainstream sports. As far as long term endurance though, it was my impression that for sports like trail running, the best records are generally set by men although there are some competitive women like Heather Anderson. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/26 "2020-01-17T00:33:37Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I thought the post was thought-provoking. The very definition of gender and our understanding of it has been changing as of late. It is interesting to think about the OP from that perspective: what \*is \*male (or female) anyway? If it is no longer a simple binary then where does that leave us vis-a-vis the OP? > > The post in question struck me as pithily deep, not as trolling. I think we are not yet at the point in society where we \*truly \*deep down yet conflate men with women together and act as if gender is melded together. Maybe a decade from now. Deep down, we still know there are real differences. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/27 "2020-01-17T00:51:41Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Men have their grievances, but they are likelier to be the kind that leads to revenge against society as a whole - i.e., “\*Society \*has wronged me, so it must pay,” etc. Interesting! I’d expect the converse: in general, men are socialized to expect more accommodation from society as a whole than women are. I’d speculate that a sense of entitlement to societal perks plays a role here. In other words, I suspect that men tend to expect more deference from society than women do. It’s hard to be outraged at what you’ve been denied if you never expected to get it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/28 "2020-01-17T00:55:52Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Most serial killers are also male, and homicides in general are about 90 percent male. > > As far as I am aware, no one has yet been able to come up with a good explanation as to why this is. … There is one reason, not sure how good it is. We dudes get the Y chromosome. Thus, Men tend more to be outliers- super geniuses and super athletes sure, but more often bad stuff. More of the mentally impaired at the low level. Klinefelter syndrome,Fragile X syndrome occur in males and Downs syndrome is much more males than females. _Intellectual disability affects about one percent of the population, and of those about 85 percent have mild intellectual disability. Males are more likely than females to be diagnosed with intellectual disability._ > **[What is Intellectual Disability?](https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/intellectual-disability/what-is-intellectual-disability)** > > Learn about intellectual disability, including symptoms, risk factors, treatment options and answers to common questions. _About 1% of people are psychopaths, and within the general population there are more men who exhibit psychopathy than women.__According to one 2012 study published in the International Journal of Women’s Health, female psychopaths are more likely to flirt and use their sexuality to manipulate people. They’re more likely to be verbally aggressive and mean and less likely to violently attack people. Psychopathic men, on the other hand, are more physically aggressive and more likely to commit fraud — perhaps why there are many more men in prisons_ > **[The main differences between male and female psychopaths](https://www.businessinsider.com/male-and-female-psychopaths-how-they-are-different-2018-9)** > > Though research is limited, it's possible that male and female psychopaths differ in how they act. One study suggested female psychopaths manipulate with flirtation, while men are more physically aggressive and violent. Here's what we know so far. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/29 "2020-01-17T01:02:49Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I suspect many mass shooters have a gun fetish where they subconsciously equate the weapon as an extension of the male organ. Few women, even those prone to violence, are likely to relate to such a conflation. Well, there’s a fitting username–post combo. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/30 "2020-01-17T01:46:58Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I suspect many mass shooters have a gun fetish where they subconsciously equate the weapon as an extension of the male organ. Few women, even those prone to violence, are likely to relate to such a conflation. The Freudian ship sailed decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/31 "2020-01-17T02:18:30Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I thought the post was thought-provoking. The very definition of gender and our understanding of it has been changing as of late. It is interesting to think about the OP from that perspective: what \*is \*male (or female) anyway? If it is no longer a simple binary then where does that leave us vis-a-vis the OP? > > The post in question struck me as pithily deep, not as trolling. > [@Velocity](#): > > I think we are not yet at the point in society where we \*truly \*deep down yet conflate men with women together and act as if gender is melded together. Maybe a decade from now. > > Deep down, we still know there are real differences. **Moderator Note** Let’s drop the hijack. If you want to dispute moderation, take it to ATMB. If you want to discuss the definition of male and female, take it to Great Debates. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/32 "2020-01-17T03:07:24Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Thats a fair point, perhaps as a society we select sports that men are better at to be our mainstream sports. > > As far as long term endurance though, it was my impression that for sports like trail running, the best records are generally set by men although there are some competitive women like Heather Anderson. I agree with **Sailboat** ’s suggestion that we simply don’t have many sports that favor womens’ strengths over men. But the notion that women are better at endurance doesn’t seem to hold up. The men’s course record on the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile ultramarathon in California, is 14:09:28, set in 2019 by Jim Walmsley. The women’s record is 16:47:19 - Ellie Greenwood in 2012. The men,s course record for the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, 106 miles around the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps, is 20:11:44, set by Francois D’Haene in 2014. The women’s record is 22:37:26, by Rory Bosio in 2013. The overall 100-mile trail records are held by Zack Bitter, who ran 12:08:36, and Camille Herron, who ran 12:42:40. (Both at the same race, but not the same year.) Zack Bitter also holds the record for 12-hour races: 104.8 miles. Camille Herron set the women,s record of 92.66 miles. Herron also holds the women’s 24 hour record of 162.92 miles (2018). The men’s record is 188.68 (Yiannis Kouros, 1997). Too lazy to look up other endurance sports like bicycling and swimming, but at least in running, the notion that women are stronger than men simply doesn’t hold up. It would be interesting, though, to take a look to see if the disparity between the sexes is narrower in distance/endurance events than in shorter races like 1-mile, 400 meter, or 100 meter. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/33 "2020-01-17T03:16:34Z")
> [@EdelweissPirate](#): > > Interesting! I’d expect the converse: in general, men are socialized to expect more accommodation from society as a whole than women are. I’d speculate that a sense of entitlement to societal perks plays a role here. > > In other words, I suspect that men tend to expect more deference from society than women do. It’s hard to be outraged at what you’ve been denied if you never expected to get it in the first place. I’d like to edit my earlier comment a bit but it’s too late: I think that if wronged, women are generally likelier only to target specifically the individuals who have wronged them. Men, on the other hand, may be going for a bigger “statement to the world” overall - so killing a group of people who haven’t wronged you directly, but whose death will catch attention from the world, will do. (I have zero cites or sources to provide, just hypothesizing.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/34 "2020-01-17T04:11:55Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I agree with **Sailboat** ’s suggestion that we simply don’t have many sports that favor womens’ strengths over men. But the notion that women are better at endurance doesn’t seem to hold up. > … This also seems to be a bit of a hijack. ---
**Author:** ![ALOHA\_HATER](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@ALOHA\_HATER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ALOHA_HATER)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/35 "2020-01-17T04:47:58Z")
I find the evolutionary-psychology explanations hardly convincing, given that indiscriminate slaughter of strangers is hardly a characteristic that would promote survival of a group. It’s toxic masculinity. Mass shooters are men because of toxic masculinity. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/36 "2020-01-17T05:30:46Z")
I think it’s ridiculous to suggest that our conception of masculinity is MORE toxic now than it was during the 1950s. Tell me though, which era had more mass shootings? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/37 "2020-01-17T05:31:32Z")
I’m sure that male bullying has a lot to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/38 "2020-01-17T05:49:24Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I’m sure that male bullying has a lot to do with it. “Another woman handed her son his shield, and exhorted him: ‘Son, either with this on on this.’” –_Moralia_ by Plutarch I remember when I was in 8th grade and a kid’s mother dropped her son off behind the 7-11 next to the school so he could fight another kid. She sat in the car, watched him whip the other kid’s ass, and when he was finished he returned to the vehicle and they drove off. I’m sure male bullying has something to do with it as well but plenty of women contribute to the culture of toxic masculinity. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/39 "2020-01-17T05:53:45Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > “Another woman handed her son his shield, and exhorted him: ‘Son, either with this on on this.’” –_Moralia_ by Plutarch > > I remember when I was in 8th grade and a kid’s mother dropped her son off behind the 7-11 next to the school so he could fight another kid. She sat in the car, watched him whip the other kid’s ass, and when he was finished he returned to the vehicle and they drove off. I’m sure male bullying has something to do with it as well but plenty of women contribute to the culture of toxic masculinity. With no actual facts to back me up, I’m going out on a limb and suggest that’s an outlier. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501/40 "2020-01-17T07:24:24Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I think it’s ridiculous to suggest that our conception of masculinity is MORE toxic now than it was during the 1950s. Tell me though, which era had more mass shootings? If you look at a percentage of population, the peak mass shootings per capita was around 1980 to 1990. The number of mass shootings per capita has declined consistently since then and is currently about half of the rate that it was in 1990. The 1900s and 1950s (decades) were the low points for mass shootings per capita between 1900 and 2020. If you don’t look at per capita numbers and look just at raw counts, again 1900s and 1950s were the lowest, and the total count has been consistently increasing since the 1950s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-pretty-much-all-mass-shooters-male/846501.md?page=3)