Gender Stereotypes And Domestic Violence

Male victims are often unrecognized by the media, because they do not fit the stereotype that is set. Again, it’s been drilled into our heads that men are the perpetrators and women are the victims. Men are supposed to be strong, while women are weak, making them the easier target. How could a male be a victim of abuse? According to the media, there is no way men can be victims alongside women.

Typically, domestic violence occurs between a man and a woman, and usually, women end up being the victims more often then men (Heidensohn, 2012). The male is usually more dominant because he is bigger and significantly stronger then the female. However, in recent years, men have been experiencing their fair share of abuse from women. According to a study done by the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men, “Over 90% experienced controlling behaviors, and several men reported frustrating experiences with the domestic violence system. Callers’ reports indicated that their female abusers had a history of trauma, alcohol/drug problems, mental ill- ness, and homicidal and suicidal ideations” (Hines, 2007). This study measured 190 male callers who called the DAHM and the study shows that women can also batter men. This applies to the case of Jordan Graham and Cody Johnson because a wife murdered her husband. No one should ever underestimate someone else’s strength or aggression as those characteristics can be extremely hard to gauge. Cody Johnson may have had no prior knowledge of Graham’s temper and may have even felt as if he were the dominant figure in their marriage. Sometimes, it is easy to accuse a spouse of being the core reason for domestic abuse, whether it is verbal or physical abuse. However, domestic abuse can be seen as a problem for human beings in general, “Others have argued that violence is a

The victim states, “And that distorted me, damaged me, almost broke me. It is the saddest type of confusion to be told I was assaulted and nearly raped, blatantly out in the open, but we don’t know if it counts as assault yet (Baker).” The article demonstrates the emotional distress of the victim while also questioning the morality of the aggressor and the democratic system in defending offenses such as this. The reader grows sympathetic to the agony that the assault and the aggressor has caused and continues to cause throughout the case. The victim's letter encourages victims to speak out and find strength to overcome and help others and condemns the assault of anyone, especially of someone who is unable to consent to the sexual activity. The use of ethos encourages victims to speak out and find strength to overcome and help others and condemns the assault of anyone, especially of one who is unable to consent to the sexual

Solnit addresses how women are told to avoid these situations, but men are not told how to avoid these situations. Conversely, there is a realization that every male isn’t violent, and many men see the detrimental effects violence and abuse has on women. Furthermore, the article pinpoints that

Stereotype/pg. 110: “Assumptions of what people are like, whether true or false.” Around 34 minutes into the documentary, the people being interviewed said that gangs need people to fear them in order to exist. Because of this, MS13 is ‘ultra violent’ to make people continue to fear them. MS13 is trying to make a stereotype for themselves of violence. This way, if people have this idea, they will not try to mess with them, cross into their territory, or harm them.

Men are also abused by female partners. However, domestic violence against males is not always acknowledged (Lewis and Sarantakos, 2001) and little is known about the numbers of men who are abused or treated violently by their partners. Many of the effects of abuse are the same for men as for women. They are likely to feel deeply ashamed, frightened, experience a loss of self-worth and confidence, feel isolated, guilty and confused

As the dominant discourse would suggest, female victims of domestic violence face not only the debilitating psychological and physical traumas of abuse

Stereotypes about women include: women are supposed to be skinny, women are supposed to shave, women are weaker than men, and women are not as smart as men. Gender profiling about men include: men are supposed to be strong or muscular, men should be the breadwinner of the family, and that men need to be in control over women. Stereotyping is damaging to those who are victims. It can lead to abuse and bullying. It encourages hateful behavior which many people carry into their adult

Domestic violence has been prevalent over the years and more cases of men being violated are recorded on a daily basis as there is a record of 1 out of 7 men reportedly abused daily (Sacks, 2014). Domestic violence takes several forms namely physical psychological and emotional. This report focuses on emotional abuse against men. Domestic emotional abuse consists of the act of undermining the victim’s sense of self-worth through constant criticism, belittling, lack of appreciation of any efforts the victim puts in impressing the partner, constant insulting, inducing guilt. It also entails the comparison of the victim with other people in a bid to put off the victim as being inefficient, discouragement, attempts of manipulating victim’s relationship with other people and prohibiting the victim from being their true self (Gerdes, 2012).

Women have always taken a back seat to men in American society. There has always seemed to be one set of standards that apply to men, and another set of standards that apply to women. This is evident in the home, workplace, and all throughout society.

Stereotypes are ideas held as a standard or example. They apply to the vulnerability of any one group. Intermittently, they are used against women in the United States as a whole, who are vulnerable in areas of predestined abilities to achieve a task based on sex. Not only must generalizations be lessened, but they also must be eliminated completely, as the effects they have on women are monstrous. Women in the United States are affected negatively by stereotypes through movies, mass media, and discrimination in the workplace.

Men and women can both be the offender or the victim. Statistics show that one in four women are abused and one in seven men are abused. A majority of society believes men are the abusers and women are the victims; however, that just is not the case. The victims that seek help are typically women because men can let their pride get in the way. Men will view seeking help as not having

By making society conscious of domestic violence against male victims, it has aided in creating and informing victims of help that is out there for them. This would include support groups. Being able to identify with peers that have similar situations, and discussing these issues, can help the healing begin.

Each situation within society has its own guidelines to follow and is determined based on a particular group. There are many social norms surrounding acceptable behaviors within society. This paper will examine societal norms in relation to behavior from a domestic violence view and explore the batterer’s and victim’s perspective.

Gender asymmetry and gender symmetry are two different topics that are in a heated debate, when it comes to domestic violence. It’s not only talked about in the sociology department but in the criminal justice system, government officials, and feminist talks. Over the years we see a growing effect on domestic violence towards women. According to goodhousekeeping.com 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of physical violence by an intimate partner; and every 9 seconds in the U.S., a woman is assaulted or beaten. (Domestic Violence Statistics: The Horrific Reality) Researcher want to know how it started, how to prevent it and where it is coming from. There are numerous studies that show that men are the main focus in domestic violence. You hear it from the media, statistics, and victims themselves about the violence that is perpetuated by men against women. Some researchers think that the rates of domestic violence are equivalent to both genders, which is called gender symmetry. Since the 1990s, people have supported the name violence against women until the shifted of gender neutral terms. Some researcher and activist even think that women are the main causes of domestic violence and researchers show very little to no study of that. But that’s not the point, activist and researcher who agree with gender symmetry say that men are victimized by domestic violence are in equal numbers. Most antifeminist believe that women are violent as men. Women and men are equally violent, but the use different ways to show it. Both genders are trying to dominate and terrorize their partners, and for women it’s far less injuries and physical damages to the male partner.