BACKGROUND.
In every civilization's history, familial roles were taken in domestic situations. Men were usually the hunters while women were the gatherers. Children were trained so that all of the male children were skilled in hunting and ready to go to war at any given time. Meanwhile, the female children were taught how to cook, clean and prepare for child bearing.
Domestic violence can be traced back to 733 B.C. but did not become as social problem until much later (McCue, 1995). In 18th century France, if a man were to report that his wife was abusing him, he was made to wear an outlandish outfit and ride backwards around the village on a donkey (Gross, 1998). .
The epidemic of violent and aggressive women is not new. Nor is the reality of male victims of intimate partner violence. 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was a battered man. He often was subjected to the physical and mental abuse that wife Mary Todd Lincoln inflicted upon him. In one case, when the leader of the "free world" brought home the wrong breakfast meat, he was hit in the face with firewood and had hot potatoes pitched at his head (Burlingame 1994).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
In American culture there is a double standard when it comes to raising children. Male children are taught to be providers and protectors and that any sign of weakness or vulnerability is unacceptable. Female children are taught that as the future bearers of children, they are to be treated fragilely and that sensitivity is a female trait and therefore acceptable. Because of this double standard, abused men fear rejection from society and fail to report abuse at higher rates than their female counterparts do.
SUMMARY.
Chapter 1 discussed the social problem of male victims of domestic violence and why they do not report it. Concepts such as the double standard of parenting Americans were introduced to offer some insight into the contributing factors of underreported incidents.