Joel Inoa Reyes

Ms. Joshi

Pre-English

07/29/2017

MEN USING VIOLENCE

The question, did he put his hands on you? has been said so many times in multiple

occasions such as through jokes or serious conversations. This is usually said to women in

intimate relationships with the insinuation of their partner, a male, being abusive towards them.

What many should focus on is why the majority of abusers are males. Observing the issue, it is

originating from their upbringing, but it is important to focus on the root of the issue what

causes them to be raised a certain way. Overtime society has created the social construct of

gender roles. That idea has created, what many think of as, the ideal society. This has lead to a

division in actions between a male and a female. The distinction between the ways the two

genders act has caused many to be taught to act one way the way that is ideal of their gender.

Males are told to be the aggressive, strong, and belligerent bread winners. They are raised as

such to provide for their female counter parts (who are raised to have completely different

characteristics). Since men are taught overtime that they should act as the brawny leader, they

learn ways of treating women as lesser than them. The idea of masculinity coming from gender

roles may have lead to the ways of abuse. So we must ask the question, is masculinity the

cause of domestic violence?

 Firstly, the denotation of masculinity is the possession of the qualities traditionally

associated with men (Oxford Dictionaries). This is the term that men must live by in society it

is the standard. This is what males are forced to follow, so it must be the drive for their violent

actions. Through research, many views will be explored to see if masculinity really does form

abusive intentions.

Men are raised to have the mindset of a leader. According to Kristin L. Anderson, the

sexual division of labor both inside and outside the household, the tendency for men to marry

down and women to marry up, and the greater rewards accorded to men's work are means of

producing gender (Anderson, 658). The works of men and women are separated for a purpose

to leave men at a higher place. Anderson presents this idea because it will support her argument

of how masculinity relates to domestic violence. She also includes the fact that class may play a

role with gender in relation to abuse. Anderson points out that because lower-class men often

lack power and authority in their work environments, they may construct rigid, aggressive

models of masculinity in the home (Anderson, 658). Not only do gender roles play a role with

abuse and dominance, but also where one stands in society. Anderson puts into light how the

lower in class a male is, the more they intertwine violence and aggression to home. Their homes

would, of course, contain families which they must provide for; those are who he may take his

anger out on. Not only does their work place form their abusive intentions, but the fact that

masculinity creates a model that those lower class males struggle to follow. Anderson notes that

a man's lower relative status is considered deviant, and the cultural depiction of the husband

as breadwinner has supported the greater rewards accorded to men in the workplace (Anderson,

658). Men feel rewarded from the fact that they can treat their families; they love the fact that

they can fulfill the stereotype of being the head provider. So for that to be stripped from lower
class males, strips the satisfaction of being the breadwinner. Moreover, they end up being

unhappy with life causing the harshness in their attitudes. So this raises the question: does class

also play a role in masculinity causing domestic violence? There are multiple things that can

affect manliness and its relation to the actions of a person. More perspective on the idea may

help the answer many questions relating to the overall topic.

Does patriarchy have a role in masculinity and how it influences abuse? Patriarchy is a

very traditional outlook on living. The denotation of patriarchy is, a system of society or

government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through

the male line (Oxford Dictionaries). This is one way of looking at the order of a family; the

eldest male most likely the father is the head of the house hold. Michael P. Johnson had

written a journal titled, Patriarchal Terrorism and Common Couple Violence: Two Forms of

Violence against Women. In this text he had had used the term patriarchal terrorism. Johnson

states that patriarchal terrorism is a product of patriarchal tradition; he continues the thought

mentioning that it is a form of terroristic control of wives by their husbands that involves the

systematic use of not only violence, but economic subordination, threats, isolation, and other

control tactics (Johnson, 284). Masculinity is a major part of patriarchy; the eldest male is the

leader of the house hold which is the typical quality for a male to hold. Moreover, patriarchal

terrorism is a form of abuse. This form of domestic violence is more controlling of others in

relation to the perpetrator. Not only is violence is involved, but freedoms are stripped from the

victims of the abuser. Masculinity has caused patriarchy when analyzing the term; so in reality, it

has caused patriarchal terrorism to be existent.

Another thing to observe is the relation of culture, masculinity, and domestic violence.

Julia L. Perilla explores this through the Latinx community. To understand what she speaks
about, one must understand the term of machismo. Machismo is defined as, strong or aggressive

masculine pride (Oxford Dictionaries). This meaning that a male is proud of being masculine,

and having the properties associated with men. Machismo is a term that is stressed highly on

Latino males. Perilla discusses, machismo is seen as an expression of the exaggeration of

maleness to the detriment of the feminine constitution, personality, and essence; it is the

exaltation of physical superiority and brute force (Perilla, 116). Machismo is representative of

excessive power; because this is true, Latinx males use it as an excuse to abuse any one inferior

to them. The term is placed on to those young men to live by; this makes them have the

exaggerated masculine qualities. Masculinity is the overarching issue in the Latinx community as

presented with the machismo example; it causes many to be abuse victims within that

community. This is just another way as to how masculinity can cause domestic violence.

Moreover, masculinity is viewed differently in each racial/ethnic group.

Society had caused men to believe they are bigger than women. With that, it has caused

the concept of masculinity and the issue of abuse. But the question of masculinity being the

cause of domestic violence still needs to be brought to light and answered; the topic is highly

taboo in relation to how children are raised. We as a society need to understand the background

of these violent actions, and this is possible through research of the issue. With research

reoccurring problems as such would not be around or seen as much.

 WORKS CITED

- Masculinity. Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, 2016.

- Anderson, Kristin L. Gender, Status, and Domestic Violence: An Integration of Feminist

and Family Violence Approaches. Journal of Marriage and the Family, vol. 59,

no. 3, 1997, p. 655., doi:10.2307/353952.

- Johnson, Michael P. Patriarchal Terrorism and Common Couple Violence: Two Forms

of Violence against Women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, vol. 57, no. 2,

1995, p. 283., doi:10.2307/353683.

- Patriarchy. Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, 2016.

- Machismo. Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, 2016.

- Perilla, Julia L. Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue: The Case of Immigrant

Latinos. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, vol. 21, no. 2, 1999, pp. 107

133., doi:10.1177/0739986399212001.

- Kasturirangan, Aarati, et al. The Impact of Culture and Minority Status on Womens

Experience of Domestic Violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, vol. 5, no. 4,

2004, pp. 318332., doi:10.1177/1524838004269487

- Dutton, Donald G., and Tonia L. Nicholls. The Gender Paradigm in Domestic Violence

Research and Theory: Part 1 The Conflict of Theory and Data. Aggression and

Violent Behavior, vol. 10, no. 6, 2005, pp. 680714.,

doi:10.1016/j.avb.2005.02.001