Why is it? ... anyone know??

This has puzzled me since I was a child..... I've not been able to find a definite answer..... does anyone know..??

*Please note** this is not a dis on men, it's just a question I've carried with me my whole life......

OK--- Why is it exactly that almost all mass murders and violent crimes are committed by males?? Women can shoot a gun and use a knife just as well as men, we get just as upset as men...
Why is it that when women get upset we tend take it out on ourselves.... yet men(in general) take it out on others? I really don't understand this.....

anyone??....

Hmmmm........good question. I honestly don't know? Testosterone?

I'm no sociologist, but there is no doubt in my mind that it's due to testosterone.

honestly i think its upbringing and social conditioning. men are taught to release anger outward, women to turn it inward. men are taught to protect against others, to fight, to be aggressive and to stand their ground. women are taught that they are responsible for fixing things, that problems can be solved by their own actions (and if we cant solve them we think theres something wrong with us and take it out on ourselves), that we are less important than others. women also are taught to empathise whereas men are not and tend to be more centered around themselves rather than thinking of others and their effect on those others.
im too tired too say much more so i hope this is expressed understandably at least. sorry.
the only other thing is that i think maybe 'all' is too general. women do commit mass murder and violent crimes too. in fact they commit violent crimes all the time. not as much as men though thats true.
ok thats my 2 cents.

Hey thanks for the replies-- it gave me some ideas for researching!

I found a few things but it seems the census is still a bit blurry... no known definite reason.

There was a study done in a women's prison and they found most inmates had higher levels of testosterone than the average woman.

Another study said testosterone is a part of aggression but not the cause for aggression. (whatever that means??) This same study also said that serotonin levels can contribute to violence-- the higher the level the more chance of being violent.

I also read a statistic from the Office of Public Affairs at the University of Texas- Austin-- that stated 87% of killers are men.

Just for the record: Biiv said: "the only other thing is that i think maybe 'all' is too general" I didn't just say "all"-- I said "almost all". I guess I should have said-- "the majority"-- as 87% is a majority.

I like to lean towards Biiv's explanation about the origins of violence and non-violence-- being cultural. I really am uncomfortable thinking that we as humans are that close to animals in being controlled by our bodies and NOT our intelligence.

and thanks to the special person that sent a great PM!

If anyone has anymore ideas, I'd love to hear them.

mandy

and thanks to the special person that sent a great PM!

You're welcome.

I think maybe it is a mixture of things but I believe boys/men are taught to solve problems with fighting. girls learn to solve problems by communication. hence men are taught violence rather than solving. just my opinion

thanks bebop, I think you have a very good opinion.

I think cultural expectations has a lot to do with too-- I bet more than some scientist want to admit.

Deep in my heart I like to believe that humans are not that different from each other-- mentally-- no matter the gender. That it's more cultural influences causing male/female behavior and thinking variations than biology.

I'm not able to accept some harmful sterotypes that many say can't be helped because that's just the way it is.

on a side note--- Off topic--- I'm going to make your pistachio cake in a couple weeks-- you know-- it's <font color="green">GREEN </font>!!!! ..... you going to make one too?

mandy

Yum.......

I too would say it is the TESTOSTERONE........... men were created to be protectors and women were created to care for their families and to birth the babies, just look at history - Men went to battle while Women stayed home.

Plus - IMO........ more women are willing to seek professional help for emotional upsets while men are more timid about it, therefore, men do not always find a safe way to release their inner anger.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -

mandy lol I haven't made one of those in a couple of years but honey I am so glad you like it! that just thrills me! you have no idea how that makes me feel! the mama in me lol

There was one study done that showed most of the violent men who were in prison had had a head injury earlier in life. Now perhaps men, at least back then for sure, were more active doing more dangerous stuff (including front lines of war) and thus were more likely to suffer head trauma?

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I think it is due to both nature AND nurture.

There aren't very many things that are due to only one or the other. Most things are due to a complex interplay of both internal (nature) and external (social) causal mechanisms. The controversy is in figuring out precisely what internal and external causes are involved and in figuring out how they interact with one another.

> Another study said testosterone is a part of aggression but not the cause for aggression. (whatever that means??)

What that means is summed by this little saying: Correlation doesn't imply causation.

Correlation is when two features are found to occur together. In this case, the finding that high levels of testosterone seems to be correlated with violence.

But the correlation doesn't tell us whether high levels of testosterone cause violence or whether violence causes high levels of testosterone. It could even be that they have a common cause and there is no direct relationship between them. Like how the weather and a barometer reading are correlated in virtue of having air pressure as a common cause.

There is also controversy with respect to how robust causal explanations need to be. An example of a robust genetic explanation is Huntington's. Huntington's is caused by repeats at the end of some chromosome or other (can't remember which one, sorry). This causal claim is robust because you can vary the environment considerably and yet if there are the repeats the person has huntingtons. An example of a non-robust genetic explanation is Schizophrenia. Identical twins are genetically identical. If one twin has schizophrenia there is only a 48% chance that the other twin will have schizophrenia, however. This genetic explanation is non-robust because environmental causal mechanisms are playing a more significant role than the genetic ones. If we know someone has the genetics 'for' schizophrenia it is still more likely than not that they don't have schizophrenia.

How does robustness relate to the testosterone case? I'd need to know the base rate for high levels of testosterone in the population to see what percentage of them had a history of violence. One would need to check the robustness of the correlation first and with respect to the causal claim... One would need to know whether testosterone levels were high PRIOR to violent behaviour or whether the violent behaviour preceeded the elevated levels.

END RANT

Another thing is in figuring out whether males really are more violent than females.

If you take the percentages of males to females who are imprisoned for violent offences then this might not be the best measure of violence for a number of reasons. Some of them include:

- Males tend to be stronger than females and hence if a women has a violent outburst she is less likely to harm (and hence less likely to be prosecuted)
- Women might be over-represented in psychiatric wards and under-represented in jail (there has been much written on how females with BPD are likely to present for psychiatric assistance whereas males with BPD are likely to present before the courts)
- Women might be smarter (with respect to avoiding detection for their violent crimes)
(unlikely but possible) ;-)

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Rhap,
I think you have a good point here:
</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
more women are willing to seek professional help for emotional upsets while men are more timid about it, therefore, men do not always find a safe way to release their inner anger.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> I think you're right that more women seek counseling than men... though, I'm not sure about it being a "timid" issue....

thanks!

mandy

Off topic.... re: bebop's <font color="green">Green </font>pistachio cake.....(BTW- for those that didn't know, it was in the recipe forum a while ago)

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I haven't made one of those in a couple of years

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> Well, seems like it's about time then! LOL!

If I can figure out my camera, I'll post a picture of the cake.--- don't anyone hold your breath though.... I'm so very technology challenged...

gee, I didn't think using your recipe would make you feel like that:
</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I am so glad you like it! that just thrills me! you have no idea how that makes me feel! the mama in me lol

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> that's cool!

mandy

Sky,

The study you spoke of that showed most violent men in prison had had a head injury earlier...... then you said , men "back then" were more active doing more dangerous stuff....... umm-- when was "back then"? just wondering....

that's interesting about head trauma.... something else for me to research-- thanks.

mandy

alexandra,

ahhh... correlation and causation..... now that makes sense to me-- thank you.
</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
But the correlation doesn't tell us whether high levels of testosterone cause violence or whether violence causes high levels of testosterone.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> This would be such a good thing to know!(IMO) wish we (humans) had the answer. Then, thinking way ahead here--- there could be an "anti-violent pill" (uh-oh any pharm-companies read this-- it might be out next year!! --LOL!! just kidding--sort of) some people could take that counteracts whatever it is that spurs such reactions...could save hundreds of potential murder victims lives.

Seems like it should be possible to test the robustness of testosterone in the way that you are suggesting.. no? why doesn't someone do that? (I'm wondering outloud- )

I can understand how women(in general) are not as strong as men(in general).... but what about being a sniper? one doesn't need strength for that... How many female snipers have there been compared to male snipers? How about armed robberies-- most are committed by men.... one only has to hold a gun-- a woman can do that.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Women might be over-represented in psychiatric wards and under-represented in jail (there has been much written on how females with BPD are likely to present for psychiatric assistance whereas males with BPD are likely to present before the courts)

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> I believe this goes back to Rhapsody's post-- that possibly more women seek mental help than men...

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Women might be smarter (with respect to avoiding detection for their violent crimes)
(unlikely but possible) ;-)

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> Well, it is good to dream! I think that is unlikely too though.

thanks for your replies... gets me thinking.... I like that.

mandy

Here is an article I found online....

How can we understand this connection?

There is a widespread view that men are "naturally" prone to violence because of their genetic inheritance. Some people claim that men are made more aggressive by their hormones, especially by testosterone. Some think it is a matter of the "male brain" working in different ways than the female brain.

Read More -

LINK: http://www.undp.org/rblac/gender/menandviolence