Domestic violence has only recently become something that is discussed in the open. In the past, when domestic violence occurred there were no consequences for the abusers, and little help for the victims. As time has passed, laws and the changing society have helped to bring information about domestic violence to light. This has had a positive effect, but it has also highlighted some disturbing trends and ideas held by many. One of these trends is the sexism inherent in many domestic violence cases, which so often stems from how society encourages male entitlement. In essentials, this means that society caters more often to the idea that men are superior toward women, can have ownership of them, and similar ideas. My research question for my upcoming literature review is therefore: how has the encouragement of male entitlement in our society contributed to domestic violence? The answer is that this attitude has contributed to domestic violence quite a lot, and those that study domestic violence, as well as survivors of such horrific treatment have noticed it.

As Anthony Porter states in his paper: “Ending Domestic Violence, a Call to Men: It’s Time to Become Part of the Solution”, viewing women as property, and objectifying them, are large parts of common domestic abuse. He states that in our “male dominating” society, the idea that women are property of men is often encouraged. This “…further dehumanizes them (women), and creates an environment which overwhelmingly supports men’s objectification of women.” (Porter, Anthony). In addition, society tends to only focus on physical abuse, and pays no mind to mental or psychological abuse, which can also be terribly damaging. He points out that men and society have, and continue to ignore the root of the problem with men who abuse, and instead “pathologize their violence, blaming chemical dependency, mental illness, anger management,” and that doing so makes them unable to acknowledge domestic violence as “being a manifestation of sexism”. (Porter, Anthony). He then adds that the course for change lies in realizing this, and admitting that men themselves – even men who do not abuse women – are part of the problem. (Porter, Anthony).

This problem isn’t getting any better either; according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), 1 in 3 women have experienced domestic violence, and 3.2 million worldwide have suffered it severely. (ncadv.org) These situations can be made even worse for women of color in relationships with white men, as well as transgender women, lesbian women, or bisexual women, as they can often suffer abuse for their orientation or assigned sex, and the abuse can include outing those women to their families or the public, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to other violence, such as hate crimes and abuse from their families. (mayoclinic.org). This is something that the country has struggled with for some time, as Anthony Porter points out, saying that the United States was built upon a “system of domination” over other races, classes and sexes. We must educate ourselves, and most importantly, educate men about domestic violence and equality, if things are ever going to change. (Porter, Anthony.)