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102 SNAKES IN SUITS
will often diagnose the male as a psychopath (or antisocial personality
disorder) and the female as something else, usually histrionic
or narcissistic personality disorder (see page 40). In each case, the
clinician’s diagnosis is influenced by expectations of how psychopaths
should behave. That is, the clinician expects psychopaths
to be tough, dominant, and aggressive, and a woman who does not
project these characteristics therefore is not a psychopath. What
the clinician fails to understand is that the behaviors of male and
female psychopaths, like those of most other people, are shaped by
the sex-role stereotypes cultivated by society. The same underlying
personality structure may find different behavioral and social expression.
Although the process of socialization fails to embed in the
psyche of psychopaths the network of inner controls we refer to
collectively as conscience, it nevertheless makes them aware of
society’s expectations about sex roles, about what is expected of
them as men and women. More than most people, they effectively
use these expectations as potent tools for manipulation. So
a female psychopath might make full use of the passive, warm,
nurturing, and dependent sex-role stereotype in order to get what
she wants out of others, just as a male psychopath might use a
macho image, intimidation, and aggression to achieve satisfaction
of his desires.
Female psychopaths effectively use society’s expectations
about female behavior to their own advantage. But, more than
most women, they also are able to break out of the traditional
sex-role stereotypes, to go beyond conventional boundaries. This
is readily apparent among female offenders, where the prevalence
of psychopaths is almost as high as it is among male offenders.
The variety and severity of criminal acts performed by
these women, as well as their capacity for cold-blooded violence,
are similar to those committed by their male counterparts.
Sex-role stereotypes about the behavior of women are changing
rapidly. In a sense, the public is just catching up with a reality
that long has been recognized by writers and those in the entertainment
business. Female psychopaths frequently are well portrayed
in fiction, true-crime books, television, and movies.