As I discussed in my previous post "Who Do You Love?", Mars placements manifest differently for men and women. Men often UTILIZE their Mars, while women often ATTRACT their Mars placement. There are a number of weighty psycho-social reasons for this but it often remains true for people socialized under heteronormative conditions. Where these norms lead us is into some very dark territory when it comes to Mars/Pluto aspects in natal charts and what you can expect with them. I am singling these aspects out and urge you to consider the whole chart before coming to a full conclusion on a person's past or future. I am looking at these aspects unadulterated, and so there will be many people for whom none of the below plays out because the weight of these aspects is softened by other conditions in the chart. Astrology in the wrong hands can lead to dangerous assumptions and false positives, so please be discerning and practice ethically.
For Women:
I always feel the greatest cringe when reading a woman's natal chart when I see a challenging (opposition, square, conjunction) aspect between Mars and Pluto. Pluto's intensity and Mars aggression combined in this manner very often leaves that woman vulnerable to physical and sexual violence at the hands of men. This will usually first occur in childhood and become a pattern over a lifetime unless dealt with constructively. What is surprising to many is that there is often an innate aggression and dominance tendency in these women, often toward other women, but sometimes towards men as well. This should not be construed as anything other than a REACTIONARY coping response to past or present abuse. They aggress first so they aren't aggressed. But for many this will be altogether unconscious, and they will continue to be attracted to aggressive and sexually dominant men who pick up on the signaling and continue to perpetuate the cycle. This will require professional intervention to untangle and it will be important to keep your guard up around who you let into your life, though suffice to say you will not always have control in this area, especially as a child.
For Men:
If you've been paying any attention to the news over the past year, wave after wave of successful men across industries are being dragged out of the boardrooms and outed for their predatory and violent past behavior. Harvey Weinstein comes to mind at the top of that list, but it is a long list with a red flashing light of an aspect frighteningly common among them - Mars in challenging aspect to Pluto (and especially the square and conjunction). These are your wolves in sheep's clothing, your master manipulators, your bullies, your rapists, your power-hungry debasers. They can be seductive and entirely undeterred in getting what they want, and what they want is usually power, power and more power over everyone around them. Attaching that Pluto to the sex drive of Mars is like attaching a nuclear bomb to a race car - it is eventually going to crash and take everyone out with it.
These men tend to rise through the ranks fairly easily, stepping on a lot of backs to climb to the top where they will lord over and prey on others. They are your CEOs, your master chefs, your corrections officers, your priests, your swim coaches, your father. It is a nasty placement and can do a lot of damage when let run amok. If you see this in someone's chart, watch them closely and see how they operate before engaging with them. They are very perceptive and charming and will try to disarm you through those means, and if that doesn't work, they will use bullying or outright violence. These are men you should think twice about putting in positions of power or dating if you in any way feel they are not exactly who they seem at first meeting.