Does True Crime Provide Women with Agency They Can't Have in Real Life?

For years, true crime has allowed us to dive deeper into many cases from all around the world. May it be Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, or Richard Ramirez, everyone has heard about their atrocities, in large part due to the genre of true crime rising in popularity. True crime, despite grabbing attention in a morbid manner, has ironically given a significant amount of agency to women. 

Whether out of interest, research, or an understanding of the justice system, it would be fair to say that the obsession with true crime has certainly risen within the past couple of years. According to the World Health Organisation, more than one in three women have faced some sort of violence in their lives, yet they still make up over half of the true crime audience. Even after understanding that women are usually the victims of these crimes, why are they still more likely to listen to crime podcasts than men? 

There are several reasons behind this. The main ones are to challenge the status quo, escape the “victim mindset”, as well as understand the reasoning behind the crimes committed. In fact, most women have admitted that they watch or listen to true crime in order to downplay their vulnerability. Escaping the status quo in this day and age is important for women, as it allows them to understand problems in regard to gender-based violence, and advocate for change by voicing their opinions. By listening to true crime, women are able to understand the cause behind gender-based violence, allowing them to create a safer place for newer generations, as well as prevent the crime from happening to them. 

Escaping the “victim” narrative has been shown to be very important for women. In almost all true crime stories, we see that women are more likely to be victimised, therefore being stuck with the stigma of the “easy target” stereotype. Yet tuning in to all of these podcasts, hearing how all of the women recover from the misfortune faced, and listening to survival stories inspires women, and allows them to break free from the social norm that’s been established in true crime. 

To look at how the current generation views true crime and gender-related violence, I interviewed one of my friends interested in true crime. Although this doesn’t show how a large group of people think about true crime, I figured that it would still be insightful to look at the viewpoint of someone else who has been interested in true crime for a similar amount of time as me. 

The interview went as follows: 

“How long have you been into true crime?”

“I’ve been interested in true crime for about two to three years.”

“What do you like about true crime?”

“I enjoy finding out about the criminal psychology of cases, and like listening to podcasts in particular as I like the storytelling aspect of it.”

“Did you know that women are twice more likely to listen to true crime than men? What do you think is the appeal of true crime to women?”

“I think that this may be due to the personal safety that women feel they achieve by listening to true crime. Throughout history, women have been the subject of a lot of violence, which may make them more inclined towards finding out why this is.”

“Do you feel like true crime gives you a sense of agency?”

“I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts and, not always, but in the majority of cases, women have been the victims even throughout history. So when I listen to these podcasts, I feel like it makes me more knowledgeable about what lies beyond, which allows me to be prepared for the worst.” 

“Why do you think women are more likely to be victims of true crime?”

“In the world, violence, such as physical and sexual violence, is more likely to happen to women because of the vulnerability that is correlated to them and also because, historically, the power dynamic has been men with a greater power and females with lesser, therefore I believe that most of the gender-based violence that happens now is due to those historic social norms.”

Throughout the world, we have been exposed to a high level of true crime, hearing how women are almost always the targets, which was further proven by the interview I conducted. True crime presents women with an opportunity to find agency, by questioning cultural norms, reclaiming their narratives, and creating supportive communities. It’s critical to acknowledge the positive effects true crime has on women's lives, as well as the wider discussions the genre brings in regard to gender-based violence, as well as the societal reform that it prompts.

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