This might clear up a few matters in its interesting discussion of grandiose vs vulnerable narcissism (ignore the sex distinction).
Researchers have discovered that narcissism can come in two types: grandiose and vulnerable. And Green has shown that while men are more likely to have grandiose narcissism, boasting high self-esteem and extroversion, women more commonly display the vulnerable form, involving introversion, defensiveness and low self-esteem. They may be more brittle and less boastful.
Green believes this is because bragging and chest-thumping simply aren’t socially acceptable for women. “Narcissistic women are abusing in ways that society allows,” she argues. “They often leverage their femininity, present themselves as soft-spoken, but it is cunning; it’s premeditated.” They may still lie, cheat and control others.
In Somma’s study, women with high levels of psychopathy, machiavellianism and grandiose narcissism scored low on agreeableness (how friendly you are) and high on social deviance (breaking rules or norms). Women with vulnerable narcissism, however, were less socially deviant and more agreeable than women with other dark traits. They also had more paranoid thoughts and the worst mental health of all. This is potentially because they are more insecure and eager to fit in. “They’re often better at faking empathy,” says Green.
But we may fail to recognise these traits as narcissistic. “Female leaders with narcissistic traits can cause as much reputational damage, staff turnover, bullying, as male ones – they just go about it in a more sneaky way,” says Green. “Male leaders can be more aggressive and socially dominant to establish authority. But female leaders may blame the higher-ups for why they had to fire you – even if they orchestrated it.”
There’s certainly aggression beneath the surface. Vulnerable narcissism is more strongly linked to aggression in relationships, as well as physical and verbal bullying, than the grandiose type.
2 types of narcissism: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21204843/
introversion, low self-esteem:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10157482/
aggression in relationships: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886920304360?via=ihub
verbal bullying: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-024-01477-y
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/feb/02/female-narcissism-is-often-misdiagnosed-how-science-is-finding-women-can-have-a-dark-streak-too