About this episode

Elle Kamihira interviews Jane Caputi about the cultural implications of serial sex killers and their narratives in society.

40 years ago, Jane Caputi wrote a brilliant book about serial sex killers - The Age of Sex Crime - which is as relevant today as it was in 1987. In the book, Jane analyzes the histories of well-known, individual serial sex killers, from Jack The Ripper to The Boston Strangler to Son of Sam to Ted Bundy and many more - and answers fundamental questions about how and why they came to be - and how they fit into our cultural narratives. Jane argues that far from being monstrous aberrations, serial sex murderers occupy a role in our patriarchal culture that is both accommodated and endorsed. In this hour Elle talks with Jane about all aspects of serial sex killing; the folk hero appeal of serial sex killers, how sexual terror is used to preserve male power, how the serial killers, police and media co-create “monster genius mastermind" narratives and how these narratives fit hand in glove with a common collective male fantasy of hurting women. We also talk about the real silencing of victims and how women everywhere are invited to identify with the serial killer’s victims, both in the real-life cases, then in the true crime media that retells the gruesome details, and then finally in…

People in this episode

Host: Elle Kamihira

Guest: Jane Caputi

Topics covered

• serial sex killers
• patriarchal culture
• cultural narratives
• male power
• victim silencing
• true crime media

Keywords

• serial killers
• sex crime
• cultural analysis
• male dominance
• victimization
• true crime
• patriarchy

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Age of Sex Crime

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