Article
Gendering Violence: Masculinity and Power in Men's Accounts of Domestic Violence
Gender & Society
(2001)
Abstract
This article examines the construction of gender within men's accounts of domestic violence. Analyses of in-depth interviews conducted with 33 domestically violent heterosexual men indicate that these batterers used diverse strategies to present themselves as nonviolent, capable, and rational men. Respondents performed gender by contrasting effectual male violence with ineffectual female violence, by claiming that female partners were responsible for the violence in their relationships and by constructing men as victims of a biased criminal justice system. This study suggests that violence against female partners is a means by which batterers reproduce a binary framework of gender.
Keywords
- Domestic violence
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 1, 2001
DOI
10.1177/089124301015003003
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2018 by Sociologists for Women in Society
Citation Information
Kristin L. Anderson and Debra Umberson. "Gendering Violence: Masculinity and Power in Men's Accounts of Domestic Violence" Gender & Society Vol. 15 Iss. 3 (2001) p. 358 - 380 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kristin_anderson/32/