NCJ Number
138098
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Dated: (January 1992) Pages: 387-415
Date Published
1992
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Based on case study research in a small, rural central Appalachian community during the winter of 1987-88, this report concludes that standard definitions of wife abuse obscure the elements of social control inherent in violent activities, while obviating the relationship between violence and other forms of social control.
Abstract
Data for this study were obtained through researcher observations and interactions, structured tape-recorded interviews, and informal conversations. The author distinguishes three levels of social control exerted by men over their wives. Normative control involves socially acceptable means, in which women's lives are constrained by norms and ideology. A second level of control, persuasive control, refers to nonviolent means of social control, including repeated verbal requests, the withholding of transportation, forced parenthood, and the use of stereotypes and ideologies to isolate women. The third level of control, violence, refers to the threat and use of physical assault and the use of weapons to instill fear. The author uses the context-specific approach to demonstrate that social control is dependent on a culture and social structure that condones men's domination of women. She argues that without cultural acceptance of and structural support for men's authority over women, violence would be less effective as a means of social control. 6 notes and 23 references