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Show 12 | MyWeberMedia.com| January 10, 2019 “BE SEXY, DON’T GET MURDERED” By CATHERINE WEIMER Correspondent Dylann Slott, a former Weber State University student, picked up a love for true crime stories at a young age from her mother. Slott hadn’t followed true crime stories for years, but she recently renewed her love of true crime through podcasts. While these podcasts make her feel reconnected to her mother, who passed away a few years ago, other people close to her were worried. “They thought I was sick because I was so into it, and it’s all I was talking about,” Slott said. “My sister thought since I was interested in murder, I was going to murder somebody or poison myself.” Linsey Kofford, a current WSU student, has also been interested in true crime podcasts. She also had a loved one who was concerned about this interest. “My boyfriend said he thought it was weird I liked it,” Kofford said. “He thought that I was giving glorification to people that commit these horrible crimes.” Slott and Kofford certainly aren’t alone in their love of true crime. According to Brandwatch, a social media monitoring company, many fans of true crime podcasts are female; some experts have found an interest in true crime may help women feel safer. Kofford was able to convince her boyfriend that her interest in true crime wasn’t weird. “It’s made me more aware. A lot of people are interested in serial killers not to give them praise but to find out why they did it,” Kofford said. Brandwatch found in 2017 that 56 percent of podcast listeners were male. But when they examined the gender breakdown of 12 true crime podcasts’ Twitter followers, only one had more than 50 percent male followers. The podcast, “Last Podcast on the Left,” showed a split of 51 percent male Twitter followers and 49 percent female followers. The three hosts are Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski. “My Favorite Murder,” hosted by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff, has the biggest gender gap, with a Twitter following that is 80 percent female, according to Brandwatch. True crime podcasts are not the only interest that garners more attention from females than males. According to Associate Professor Brent Horn, department chair of criminal justice and director of forensic science at WSU, degrees and classes in the fields of forensic science and criminal justice also appeal more strongly to female students, at least at WSU. “I have always seen a difference in gender and it has always been absolutely fascinating,” Horn said. “It is heavily weighted towards the female gender.” In his Professional Practice for the Forensic Scientist class, Horn said he had 12 students, 11 of whom were female. Amanda M. Vicary, an associate professor of psychology at Illinois Wesleyan University, offered a suggestion for why this trend appears, based on her research published in “Captured by True Crime: Why Are Women Drawn to Tales of Rape, Murder, and Serial Killers,” and it appears to be related to survival. Women look for certain elements in the true crime they seek out. Specifically they look for female victims, psychological content and any survival or escape tips. “These are all related to women being able to survive a crime, so it’s possible that’s why women like to read these stories,” Vicary said. But according to Vicary, that doesn’t mean women care more about survival than men. Vicary’s study also showed men are more likely to be the victim of a crime than women. “It’s not the case that women actually care more about their survival, but that they experience a higher fear of crime and are more likely to be the victim of the rare types of crimes that occur in true crime stories,” Vicary said. Vicary’s findings seem to be true for Slott and Kofford. Both have had anxiety and fear about being a victim, and agree that podcasts have actually made them less stressed about finding themselves in a bad situation. “It makes me more aware, but it doesn’t increase my anxiety about something bad happening to me,” Kofford said. True crime podcasts have made Slott more aware of her surroundings, which she believes has made her safer. Her inter- est in true crime podcasts distracts her from her anxiety because now she has a hobby. “It’s given me a hobby and something to be interested in,” Slott said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot and it’s been educational.” The relationships made with other fans of true crime come as a bonus. Kofford, who is in nursing school, said a fellow student introduced her to podcasts and she’s been hooked ever since. It’s even offered Kofford a new outlook on life. “It’s a look at a reality of living, and it takes away the neatness that we see in television shows and it’s very real, sad and Instagram gruesome,” Kofford said. “It’s made me more practical about taking certain steps Some experts have found an interto protect myself, and to avoid certain sit- est in true crime may help women feel safer. Women look for certain uations.” elements in true crime they seek out, including female victims and Comment on this story at survival tips. signpost.mywebermedia.com |
