Alesha Durfee
Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies, Arizona State University
Key Findings
- Men’s descriptions of the violence they had experienced focused on their power and control over their intimate partner.
- Men described their active resistance to the abuse but were careful to note that their actions were not “abusive” and that they were not the “abusers.”
- Although most of the men described both verbal and physical abuse, most did not express a fear of their partner.
Description
In the article, “‘I’m Not a Victim, She’s an Abuser’: Masculinity, Victimization, and Protection Orders,” Durfee examines how men negotiate the competing discourses of victimization, hegemonic masculinity, and stereotypes about domestic violence when filing for a domestic violence protection order against a woman partner. According to Durfee, three themes related to gender and victimization emerge from the men’s narratives: 1) men’s descriptions of the violence they had experienced focused on their power and control over their intimate partner 2) the men described their active resistance to the abuse but were careful to note that their actions were not “abusive” and that they were not the “abusers” 3) although most of the men described both verbal and physical abuse, most did not express a fear of their partner.