Why do women love true crime so much? I have a theory | Nancy Jo Sales

The explosion of interest in true crime coincides with the rise of online dating. I suspect those things are more linked than they appear

Women love true crime. Studies over the last few years report that women overwhelmingly make up most of the audience of the explosion of true crime podcasts, books and TV shows. It's almost a cliche, the image of a woman sitting with a glass of red wine and consuming with rapt attention one of the countless choices in the genre, from Dirty John to Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.

Researchers have offered a number of theories about why women are so attracted to tales of serial killers, murder and rape. One possible reason, they say, is that women identify with the victims of violent crimes, as women are often victims of such crimes themselves. In the US, nearly three women are killed every day by intimate partners. According to the CDC, over half of women have experienced sexual violence. And women make up 70% of the victims of serial killers.

Nancy Jo Sales is the author, most recently, of Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno