Women internalize their devaluation and subordination…..those who do not are controlled by psychiatric diagnosis, violence or threat of violence and social ostracism.
Unger & Crawford (1996)
The feminine role stereotype gears women for economic failure…the masculine role stereotype gears men for economic success.
Janet Saltzman Chafez (1989)
feminization of poverty as a consequence of institutional oppression – the law and the society collude to keep women dependant and oppressed. The consequences of her choice (the divorce) are manipulated in such ways, the outcome so harsh, it serves as a deterrent. She is often forced to remain in an unhappy, unfulfilling marriage and even if she escapes, others that aspire are deterred.
In the words of Alan Wolfe (2004): "of all the ways that one group has systematically mistreated another, none is more deeply rooted than the way men have subordinated women. All other discriminations pale by contrast.
Her flight to freedom came as a rude shock to her husband and he used every conceivable power tactic, including physical and emotional violence, to prevent her departure. He had been socialized into believing that like the Black slaves of southern states, women were martyrs. They uplifted the society, cleansed it of male sins through their suffering, they could never elect to walk out, for their life was not their own. Maintaining the marriage was deemed to be her responsibility. Its failure was hers. |
