ABSTRACT
The feminist critique of serial murder focuses on the structural injustices that are said to give rise to the crime. This interpretation can be used to buttress the ideological position that any particular group is subject to extreme persecution because of deep-rooted structural factors within the society. The chapter discusses serial murder has been employed as a weapon in racial politics, with a particular emphasis on the incidents, the Atlanta Child Murders of 1979-1981, and the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer in Milwaukee a decade later. It considers an area where stereotypes imply a diametrically opposite image, and blacks appear disproportionately free of involvement in the most serious of crimes. Ethnic stereotyping may play an important role in shaping police investigations, to such an extent that it should be asked whether the cases we have record of are an accurate reflection of the total phenomenon.
