Power and Violence

What is power?

The ability to exercise one’s will

TYPES:1. Personal Power2. Social Power3. Marital Power

Marital Power1.Decision Making 2.Division of Labor 3.Sense of Empowerment

* Objective Measure of Power* Subjective Measure of

Fairness(note: subjective measure matters

most in marital satisfaction)

Six Sources of Power (French & Raven)

1.Coercive Power (punishment)2.Reward Power (non/material gifts)3.Expert Power (superior judgment)4.Informational Power (persuasion)5.Referent Power (couple identity)6.Legitimate Power (patriarchy)

Dynamics of Power(Blood & Wolf)

Using the Resource Hypothesis, the researchers suggest that patriarchy as a power source was no longer prevalent

Interviewed 900 wives in 196072 % Egalitarian 25 % Male dominated 3 % Female dominated

Criticism of Blood & Wolf Study

1.Not all decisions are equal2.Left out important areas of life :

a. sexual lifeb. number of childrenc. freedom to have friends of opp./same sex

3.There’s more than the final say, e.g., who comes up with the alternatives

4.Division of labor5.Autonomy

Resources and Gender

Men+ Higher Wages+ Older+ Physical Strength

+ High remarriage rate

Women+ Working in Paid Labor

- Reproductive Role- Economic Dependence

Resource in Cultural Context

Patriarchal Norm v. Egalitarian Norm

Today, in American culture:

Transitional Egalitarian Situation

Love, Need, and PowerPrinciple of Least Interested (Waller)

How does gender play a role in these theories?

Family Violence

All forms of abuse have at their center the exploitation of a power difference

The Power and Control Wheel

Behaviors some Males use for coercive power and control

What the Data SaysNational Crime Victimization Survey (2001)700,000 (nonfatal) incidences of violence (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated Assault)

85 % against women (ages 16-24)Men ages 25-34 most victimized

• Between 1993-2004 violent crime against women declined by 40 Percent

• Intimate partner homicide for men down by 45 %

Intimate-Partner Murder

Who Commits Intimate-Partner Violence?

Asymmetrical Violence:Women are primarily the victims of abuse

Symmetrical Violence:both men and women engage in intimate-partner violence

1. Sample DifferencesUsing college students versus wider age range* College women more willing to strike out in

argument

2. MeasuresCTS does not include sexual violence

3. Typologies of intimate-partner violencePatriarchal Terrorism

intended to establish a general pattern of dominance* normally not focused on particular dispute

Common Couple Violencemutual violence between couple over specific dispute* involves fewer instances, not likely to escalate, may be more common than patriarchal terrorism

Three major Explanations

Why Do Men Do It?

Coercive power is invoked when all other power sources are unavailable

* this leads to Patriarchal Terrorism

Three-Phase Cycle of Domestic Violence

1. Tension forms from minor altercation 2. Situation escalates to violent explosion3. (honeymoon stage) Husband treats wife with love and care

*similar pattern found in same-sex relationships

Why Do Women Stay?

1. Fear* 75% of murders are reactions to leaving

2. Cultural Norm* Rule of Thumb; Katz’s indifference to male

violence

3. Love, Econ. Dependency, Hopes for Reform

4. Gender Socialization* Women are the ones to keep marriages

together

5. Childhood Experience6. Low Self-Esteem