Why is the issue of Domestic Violence so intricately woven with feminism?

Question

Not saying it should or shouldn't be, and I get the history, but why are dom vio academic studies so closely related to gender studies, why not psychology, psychiatry, sociology, law, or criminal justice?

I've always been curious why gender academia seems to focus on this issue more than the other social sciences/academic disciplines.

Your thoughts?

Phil: I'm sorry to say but i'm losing respect for you by the minute. I had seen you as an answerer who could remain level headed and view the facts, but this is now the 3rd answer I have seen you push an agenda disregarding fact.

Many forms of domestic violence WERE legal, throughout history.

In ancient Greece, men had absolute power over their wives and children, meaning their family was their property and these men were given the power to kill their wives and children if they saw the need for it as punishment for adultery, etc.

English Commonlaw stated the "rule of thumb" men could beat their wives or children as long as the rod was no bigger than the circumfrence of his thumb.

Also in English Commonlaw, if a woman was raped, the restitution was paid to the father or husband, not the woman, bc women were the property of these men.

(BTW most forms of english commonlaw were inherited by america)

1824 Mississippi: Reasonable physical chastizement of wives and daughters is permissible by law

1883 Maryland: Maryland becomes the first state to enact law against wife beating

Now these are just a few blurbs I have written down from a college level domestic violence course (which btw my prof was very much opposed to feminist power and control theory, favoring social learning theory and shame theories)

Phil I appreciate your posts most of the time but lately, you are becoming extremist in that your ideas are so anti-feminism that you cannot even see the positives of it and how it has helped changed a very negative society. I know you disagree with how it has evolved, but nothing is ever ALL bad or ALL good. Please don't fall party to anti-feminist propaganda, or feminist propaganda for that matter. If you do, you become no better than the radicals.

take care and good luck to you

Answer 1

I think part of it is because until the laws were changed as a result of the feminist movement, it was completely legal to physically or sexually assault a wife.
Yep, beating or raping your wife used to be LEGAL.
Who in the fields of psychology, sociology, law or criminal justice was advocating for a law to protect married women from abuse? My guess is that's why it's linked with feminism.

Answer 2

very good question. i think perhaps historically, none of those areas were particularly interested in domestic violence - either against women or men. the whole "what goes on in the home, stays in the home". continuing on, i am going to talk as though women are the predominant victims of domestic violence, although i do know and acknowledge that men can just as easily be victims.

part of the feminist movement was to make sure that women were no longer classed as the "property" of men. men were typically allowed to beat their wives, rape them etc without any repercusions from the law. i think this is also a reason why other areas typically did not deal too much with the issue of DV either - it was not seen as something that was too bad, or as anyone else's business.

i am not sure why this is still the case however. it does seem to be that DV is addressed by the other areas now, but not too such an extent. it is a powerful tool to use in arguing feminist issues, and this is perhaps why they continue to be the major force behind DV issues?

Answer 3

Women are the victims to majority of the Domestic Violence cases that has been filed. Being as Feminism is gender specific to Females, the idea of it being intricately woven to Feminism would be logical.

Hypothetically, gender academia focus on that type of issue because, violence within a the family unit only creates a violence acceptance to the children that are prone to domestic abuse. But then, who am I to say.

Answer 4

Arrrrrggghhhh. The stupidity (and sexism) of so many here is astounding.
It was never legal to beat one's wife or anyone else, however personal family issues were something that the police didn't poke their nose into. One of the reasons was that it was a misdemeanor, which means the officer has to observe the crime in order to arrest for it. Feminism strove to change all this while at the same time flouting the numbers in such ways to indicate that it was solely men violating women and in such high numbers as to paint every (non-feminist) married man as a wife beater. Even today, this same incorrect idea is fomented throughout feminism, as can be noted in some of the answers.

The answer to the question is simply because feminism was, and is as always, looking for new ways to demonize men and elevate women to yet an even higher pedestal.

Nearly every facet of feminism has two distinct aims:

1) Give women superior privileges without concurrent responsibility for those privileges;
2) Push men down with legal sanctions based on junk science, lies, half-truths and innuendo.

Truth is, both men and women abuse and in similar numbers.

Answer 5

Time, patience and a lot of love. Your sister needs the love and support from you that she doesn't get from your parents. You also will need to control the amount of yelling and anger you display in front of her. She might also miss your parents. Even though they can't provide a safe environment for her, they are still her parents. Do they see her at all? Whenever a child is removed from their parents there will be definite separation anxiety from them. You also need to make sure she knows that she is safe and protected from harm while she is with you. If it will make her feel better, then cuddle up to her some nights, or let her sleep in your bed with you. Make sure she gets plenty of cuddles and you let her know how special she is. It will take her a long time to get over it, and this will just need patience. Keep her in therapy for as long as you believe she needs it. It will be helping her to open up about things that she might not be able to talk to you about. You also shouldn't bring the issues between your parents around her, or talk to her about it. Leave that to the therapist. If she is constantly reminded about it at home, then this might make her unsettled. Just keep being a good sister. The fact that you are worried says that you are doing a good job, and care enough about her to make the right decisions as a parent as well.

Answer 6

I think when women established the right to speak out, domestic violence was an important issue that had been ignored for many years, and needed to be talked about. Remember there was a long time no one interfered with what happened in the privacy of the home, except in extreme cases. When my father used to beat us boys, no one said a word to stop it, things like that were never interfered with. I personally think we have women to thank for giving fathers and husbands some control over their excessive violence.

Answer 7

I believe it is because violence against women was typically used within the overall system of dominance and oppression. I also believe it is because it is somewhat of a class issue in patriarchal societies; that is, a man of lower income is more likely to be violent (not just toward women) than a man who is of a higher income. I did add "patriarchal societies" in there for a reason, but I will not elaborate because people with little to no understanding might misinterpret me if I do, also, I don't want to offend.

But I think you can figure it out. :)

Answer 8

Universities are old school institutions Askingsomething? Give me a break - liberals have a death grip on them! I have to take three classes for some BS "Ethnic and Social Issues" class at SF State just to graduate! Universities are so saturated with liberal white male guilt BS that the idea of them being bastions of patriarchy is absolutely laughable. Granted, I am in California...

But never mind, you're a slaughtered saint feminist. Us men are "them" to you, you probably think most of us tacitly approve of that stuff.

Edit: heh, I love how you say their politics are irrelevant, like liberal academia isn't one of the main sources of all the white male guilt BS. And yeah, universities are so sexist, which totally explains why a lot of my professors are female, and why they have classes in things like womens studies. Get over your persecution complex.

Answer 9

added: Kudos to Steve C
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I couldn't say for sure. Perhaps it is tied to gendered stereotypes, into the power dynamics of gendered domination, possibly before it was revealed or believed that domestic violence affects people of more than just one gender. It could then have been perceived as an attack to dehumanize those of a certain gender, creating an irresistible area to learn about human oppression based on identity and how society has allocated expectations and even rights to violence.

While I am not saying that these expectations and rights to violence aren't allocated to a certain sex; however I feel that it is allocated not just to gender as the western culture that I spent a large part of my life immersed in, that of men and women, but of a deeper matter, that of masculinity and femininity (within western contexts, as I recognize different construction and even meanings to these words in some pagan, wiccan, and other cultural and/or religious groups)

As masculinity may change over time (Chivalry, Gentlemen, Soldier, Businessperson, Religious leader---some religions, etc.---these can in some circumstances be considered different constructions of masculinity, where different things are expected of a masculine role within these roles), it is also not limited to one sex to adopt these changing roles. There is a kind of masculinity that is considered violent, or, aggressive masculinity, and as a role, it can be adopted by those who would adopt it, expect it of themselves, or who might respond to others expecting them to adopt it.

I verily believe that women can abuse men, men can abuse women, eunics can abuse others, two spirits can abuse others, people can abuse people.

However, like I said, at one time these observations may not have been common in rhetoric regarding theories of gender. Violent masculinity is one role that gender may take and thus domestic violence could be a very central part in understanding gender as a social institution of oppression.

Amiko-Gabriel

Answer 10

Maybe because it is the most obvious indication of men dominating females. I don't event think there was much talk of this until feminism became apparent. Before feminism it was a nasty little secret that nobody wanted to talk about let alone do anything about.