I've been listening to a podcast that talks about the psychology behind serial killers and those types done by an ex FBI profiler and psychiatric nurse.

She stated that the DSM 5 considers a male who harms themselves for attention falls under the definition of munchausen syndrome while a woman who harms themselves for attention falls under the definition of fictitious disorder.

The case being discussed is the "kidnapping of Sherri Papini" who starved herself, branded herself, beat herself, and showed back up to her home 22 days later claiming she had been kidnapped.

I am wondering here if the reason why our subjects don't get called out for being munchies is simply due to the fact that they aren't male and that as a society, we believe women are weak and don't have the ability to have the strength to endure the horrendous shit our subjects do just for attention. I wonder what social and psychological implications there are surrounding this exact disparity in diagnostics. Why don't we consider women munchies? What is the key difference between fictitious disorder and munchausen syndrome that defines the separation.

What do you guys think? Which subjects would you consider diagnosing as munchausen syndrome and which would be under fictitious disorder and why?

[The podcast is called Killer Psyche].