this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2025
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Don't be mean. I promise to do my best to judge that fairly.
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You're both seeing the character differently. It wasn't only about the murders for the OP. Bateman, in a superficial society, tries to be something special among his peers through meaningless acts (most notably the business cards scene, but even his self-care and self-improvement are ultimately means to the end to be better compared to others). It's not that he isn't closer to men than women - he or rather his archetype generally is - but that for these two subgroups within the genders, it's reversed. (Whether the statement is correct or not is a topic for debate)
Then bring up Narcissus. Bateman is intentionally a serial killer and not removed from his murders whatsoever. Eg "you fuck a snake one time and then everyone calls you snakefucker" - we all think of Bateman as a serial killer first.
Also, men engage in tons of fucking physical "self care," eg testosterone, doping, weightlifting, Joe Rogan, carnivore diet, Andrew Tate, looksmaxxing, rogaine, meth, coke, adderall. Men literally die from ODing on drugs to look better. Women do too, but they aren't "more obsessed" with their looks compared to their male peers. It's a genuinely stupid premise that only feeds into hating women narratives
Maybe I misunderstood it but I got the impression that Bateman believes he's a serial killer, but he's not the most reliable so it could all be fantasy. Maybe I read too much into it. But yeah American Psycho is profoundly misogynistic and I get the impression Brett Easton Ellis is too
I also got the impression that the murders werent real.